A place to call home
by horseluvr00
Summary: 5 months after the battle of New York, 16yr old Kate Sanders was kidnapped. 8 months later, SHIELD finds her along with other "gifted" people. Soon after she hears of her family's death. Will she find a place to call home? Will the Avengers teach her to trust again? I'm horrible at summaries. The story's better! :) Please give it a chance! ;)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Ok, so hi everyone! This is my second story I've written. I already wrote one with a sequel so check that out if you like this one. Please review, and tell me what you think. Alright, I'll be quiet now. Enjoy!**

So there I was, sitting at my desk, sketching. It was a breezy fall day, just like any other weekend during the school year. –hold that thought. Let me start again.

My name is Kate Sanders. I'm a 16 year old girl from Fredrick Maryland. Some of my hobbies include Karate, shooting; hunting, hiking, Skateboarding, and I study wild life for nature and animal reserves. I'm an absolute animal lover; my parents say I have a "connection" with them, if you know what I mean.

There's one other thing about me that's…well, different. As a child I didn't understand it. I would have black outs at random when I was very emotional and would wake up around a day later. It was scaring me and I could tell my parents were worried. But eventually, my parents sat me down and told me everything. It's still a bit fuzzy; what happens during the black outs. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday…at least I wish I was yesterday…

~0~

8 MONTHS LATER…

Agent Clint Barton walked onto the bridge of the SHIELD Helicarrier. He walked up to Director Fury.

"Sir, Coulson's got the team ready." Clint says. Fury turns to him.

"Good. Dispatch when ready." Clint gives a nod before walking off.

Coulson was taking some agents to a ware house in the heart of downtown New Jersey. They had apparently been capturing people with "abilities" and torturing them. To them they were just animals. And after the battle of New York, SHIELD wasn't going to let this continue. Several kidnappings had been reported in the area, including some in the state of Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Agent Natasha Romanoff and Captain Steve Rogers were also on this mission with him. They were going to find and detain all of those ass holes behind this operation. And also try to figure out some of these people with abilities.

Clint met up with Natasha at the black SUV.

"Looks like you're ready to go." Clint says; looking her over, seeing her in her suit. She gives a nod.

"Same with you." She says. He gives a nod. Captain Rogers walks up to meet him, dressed in plain clothes with a SHIELD jacket, and not his patriotic get up. "Looks like you ready to go." She says sarcastically. Steve shrugs.

"No need to draw unwanted attention." He says in his no-emotion tone. Coulson walks up to them.

"Alright." He begins. "Let's go."

~0~

They arrive at the location around an hour later. Everyone spills out of the cars and goes for the front door. Coulson is the first to enter. They all walk around a corner and see a lay out that looks like a bar, with TV's, couches, and so on. Several people were there, laughing and getting drunk, waving their guns around like idiots.

"Excuse me!" Coulson yells over the noise. It dies down and they all look at the intruders. "I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics division. We'd like to speak with you." He begins.

"What the hells does that mean to me?" The drunken guy says. Suddenly several other guys come around the corner they were smiling and talking amongst each other when they saw the SHIELD team. They smiles fade and they looked serious. Coulson nods to the team and some agents walk toward them.

"We gotta get out of here!" One says and they run the opposite direction. Romanoff, Barton, Rogers, and Coulson are left.

"Ok, while our other agents are in pursuit, we'll scope out the area for the hostages. " They give a nod and spread out.

~0~

Coulson walked up to a door and looked inside, it was empty. The only thing in there was some old furniture and a rolled up rug. He continues to the next room, there was a body on the floor. He runs over and turns her over. Blood covered her chest and neck. Someone slit her throat. He closes the eyes and stands up, walking toward the door.

"Coulson." His com beeped.

"What is it Rogers." He responds.

"I think I found one." Coulson puts his com away and heads to the location.

…

Coulson walks up to Captain Rogers, who was kneeling down and looking at something in the corner of a room. Coulson sees the door broke at the hinges. _I guess that's one way to get in_. Coulson thought. Steve turns to him.

"She won't come out." He says. Coulson looks up seeing a girl huddled in the corner. She was skinny and her clothes were almost rags. His shirt was a flannel, one sleeve was gone and it didn't cover most of her stomach. She wore jeans that were ripped up and dirty. He brown hair was matted with what looked like blood and her arm and face had blood on them too. Coulson looked at Steve who just shrugged.

"Miss?" Coulson spoke up. "I'm with SHIELD, were here to help." He pulls out a water bottle from his bag and walks forward.

She shrinks into the corner more and Coulson sets the water bottle down gently in front of her. Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff come around the corner. The girl's eyes go wide as the number of people in the room grows. She tries to get as small as possible.

"Coulson, we found some others. We already have them ready to go." Natasha said. She glances at the girl before looking at Coulson.

"Alright." He turns to Captain Rogers. "Just keep her company til we get back. Try to get her out if you can." He nods and Coulson follows Romanoff and Barton out.

~0~

I don't know how long I've been here. The days started blending together quickly. I do not remember much else. Only the pain and the torture. But something was different today. These people showed up I haven't seen before. I'm scared. They haven't hurt me yet. But I can't trust them. I can't trust anyone after what they did to me.

Right now there was a man kneeling down in front of me, urging me to come out of my corner. I want to. But I can't. What if they tried to hurt me? They set a bottle of water down in front of me. I haven't had water in days. My throat was on fire as I stare at the water. I want it really bad. But if I show any signs of wanting it, they might hurt me again.

I know I will die here. But if these people are really telling the truth, and they want to help…maybe, just maybe…I'll live to see my parents again.

"Please come out." He says. I gulp eyeing him, and then the water. He looks at the water. He comes a little closer and I cringe; looking at the floor. "I'm uh; Captain Rogers but you can call me Steve." He says. He stops and looks at me before pushing the water closer to me. "It's ok, take it." He says. I look at it. What if it was poisoned like last time? Or it was just salt water to make my burn for a sip of fresh, clean water? But if it was really clean… "Here." He picks it up and takes a small sip. "It's clean, you can drink it." He puts it down in front of me.

Aw, hell. Now I really want the water. I thought. I swallow, and scoot an inch closer and don't take my eyes off him as I put out a shaky hand and take the water. After taking off the cap, I take a small sip.

Holy. Crap. I thought. I must have died and gone to heaven. I chug the rest and see pity in his eyes as I finish it and place it in front of me.

~0~

Coulson walks up to the door, he was about to enter when he sees the girl was out of the corner and looked less scared. He stops to watch.

"I promise, no one will hurt you." Steve says. Coulson eyes the girl, she looks at him and she immediately scoots back into the corner. Steve stands up and turns around, seeing Coulson.

"It's ok, he's a friend." He says turning back to her. She had her eyes on Coulson. Steve turns back.

"We need to head out soon." Coulson said. "If we can't get her out willingly, then we'll need to sedate her." Steve looks at her than Coulson.

"You sedate that kid and she'll never trust anyone!" He whispers to him. Coulson huffs.

"I don't like it any more than you do but the building will be self-destructing in fifteen minutes, so you better hurry up if you think you can get through to her." He gives a nod and Coulson walks into the room.

"Miss, this building it about to self-destruct. If you don't come with us now we can't guarantee your safety." Coulson says. The girl swallows and looks at the floor, then the wall. Steve puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take it from here." He said.

"You sure?" He asked. Steve nodded and knelt back down and Coulson went for the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He said and left. Steve watches him go.

"You should get out of here." She suddenly says. Steve's head twists around to face her. _Wow, she actually spoke._ He thought. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy.

"Yeah well, you should too." He says. She shakes her head. "Come on." He says in a playful tone. "A girl your age has a whole life ahead of her. Why would you throw that away?" He says. A very small smile appears on her face. She doesn't respond.

They sit in silence for a few minutes while Steve is trying to figure out what to say.

"Please come with us." He says. "You won't regret it." He tries to convince her. Coulson walks in.

"Time to go."

~0~

"You won't regret it." The guy Steve says. Another guy walks in and I look up.

"Time to go." He said. Steve nodded and turned to me. I look around. Did I really want to die in this hell hole?

I hesitantly look at him before inching a bit closer and pushing myself to my feet. They both smile as I take a step forward. I stumble, feeling pain in my ankle. Steve catches my arm and I flinch away. He gives me another pitiful look before I follow the other guy out with Steve following.

~0~

Coulson walks onto the bridge of the Helicarrier. He walks up to Director Fury.

"We found them all sir, they being cleaned up and detained." He reports. Fury turns to him.

"All of them?" He asks. Coulson nodded. "Did all of them have abilities?" Coulson nods, and then is hesitant.

"All accept one; we can't seem to get through to one enough to find out. She is completely erased from all files, it's like she never existed." Coulson says.

"Well figure it out then. We need to know if these people pose a threat to anyone." He made clear. Coulson gives a nod then walks off.

~0~

They had put me in a steel room. There was a small twin bed in the corner and a small bathroom as well. They gave me some clothing and some soap to clean up.

I don't know what I'm doing here. I can't trust anyone! Not after everything that's happened… If they tried to use my ability for bad, I just couldn't let that happen. I do want to trust them, but I can't give in just yet.

They gave me a jacket with their symbol on it and some black cargo pants and combat boots; I guess that's all they had. After freaking out in the shower I came out and towel dried my hair and sat on the bed. I haven't taken an actual shower in like forever.

I can't go to sleep; if I do they might hurt me. Like the other people. But I can't help but slowly drift off into a dreamless sleep.

~0~

Coulson met up with Romanoff, Barton, and Captain Rogers in the hall.

"How is she?" Steve asked. Coulson sighs.

"She's scared. She won't eat any of the food we leave and half the time she won't sleep, either from nightmares or she's just plane scared and won't let her guard down." Coulson says.

"Is she showing any signs of injury?" Natasha spoke up.

"She'll be heading to medical soon; we'll have to sedate her." He glances at Steve who didn't look thrilled.

"Did you find a name or _anything_ for that matter?" Clint asked. Coulson shook his head.

"These people really didn't want her to be found." A doctor walks up.

"We're ready for her." He says. Coulson nods to the door and they go in, along with a big a needle to sedate her.

Steve looks at Coulson, disapproving. Coulson sighed and followed the doctors with the girl on a stretcher.

~0~

I woke up to dim lighting. I was sore and felt a bit weak. I slowly sit up and rub my head. What the hell had just happened? I thought. I remember just sleeping-feeling pain in my arm- then sleeping again and waking up.

What I didn't realize was that someone had entered the room. I scurry into the corner at the front of the bed.

I did recognize this person though. The guy Captain Rogers from the ware house. He had something in his hand and I wanted to know what it was. Was it pepper spray? A Taser!? I thought.

"Brought you something." He says walking forward. He holds out a lollipop. I let out a breath. Thank the lord. I thought. "It's uh- all they had in the cafeteria that didn't look like it was from another planet." He says with a smile. I let out a very small laugh.

He tossed it to me and I catch it clumsily. It was surprisingly one of my favorite flavors. Watermelon. I slowly take the rapper off it and inspect it, looking for and kind of poison or something. He laughs.

"It's not poisoned." He says playfully. I give a nervous smile before I put it in my mouth.

Once again, Holy. Crap. I haven't tasted anything this good in such a long time! I take my time enjoying the sugary goodness.

"What's your name?" He asks after clearing his throat. I stop, looking at him, then the floor. I hesitate.

"K-Kate." I say nervously. "Sanders." I finish. He nods.

"And uh, who old are you?" I swallow.

"Sixteen." I say. I knew I was giving away too much information, but something told me I could trust him with it.

"Ok, well. I'll give the info to Coulson and if we find anything we see about getting in contact with your parents." He gives a small smile before getting up and leaving. I smile and put the lollipop back in my mouth.

_Maybe they aren't so bad after all._ I thought. _I can't wait to see my parents!_

~0~

Captain Rogers walks up to Coulson, Agent Romanoff, and Agent Barton.

"Her name is Kate Sanders, and she's 16." He begins. Coulson turned to him.

"You got her to talk?" Natasha asked. He nodded. Clint laughs.

"Yeah, by bribing her with candy." He chuckles.

"Well was I supposed to bring her a plate of vegetables?" He jokes. Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Did you find anything else out?" Coulson demanded. He shook his head.

"I wasn't going to overwhelm her with questions, Coulson." He makes clear. Coulson huffs.

"Well Fury's growing impatient and we need to contact her parents." Coulson said. They all nod. "You said Kate Sanders?" Coulson said. Steve nodded. "Alright. I see what I can get on her parents. In the meantime, leave her be until I say otherwise." They all nod.

~0~

Coulson walks up to Director Fury.

"Sir, we found out some information on the girl." Fury presses a few buttons on the control and looks at him.

"Did you find her parents?" He asked. Coulson face was grim.

"They were killed shortly after our departure from the ware house. Someone must really be taking this seriously in order to kill off her connections." Coulson said. Fury sighed.

"They always are." He said.

"Where should we send her?" He asks. Fury looked out the window.

"Find out what her power is, if she has one. Then we'll determine what to do with her."

"With all due respect sir, I highly doubt she's a threat. She just endured a very dramatic experience, she can barely stand right now as it is." Coulson said; slightly defending her. Fury gives him a look.

"And will all due respect agent, my job is to insure the safety of the whole population, not just one messed up kid." He mocks. "Dismissed." Coulson gives a nod and walks away.

~0~

Coulson passes Captain Rogers in the hallway.

"Did you find anything out?" He asked. Coulson nods.

"Her parents and other close family are dead." Coulson said. Steve hesitates before nodding.

"What are we gonna do." He asked.

Coulson sighs and shrugs.

"Honestly, once Fury finds out her power and declares whether or not she's dangerous she'll be dumped out on the streets or sent to the sandbox." Coulson said. Steve huffs.

"Are you gonna tell her?" He asked. Coulson gives him a look. "You can't be serious." He said realizing his plan.

"I am. She knows you the most and trusts you more than any of us right now; I think she'd take it better from you." Coulson said. He sighed before giving a nod.

"You want me to tell her now." He said. Coulson nodded.

"The sooner she knows the better."

~0~

I hear a door open and open my eyes to see Captain Rogers walk in. I sit up and sit on the edge of my bed instead of the corner against the wall.

He didn't look happy. My small smile disappears and I think I know what he's about to say.

"Um, Kate?" He began, pulling a chair up. I swallow. "I have some bad news...your parents are gone." He says slowly.

I knew it.

My eyes water a bit, but I hold them back.

"I know." I said quietly. He furrows his eyebrows. "B-Back at the ware house, they would threaten me." I said. "They would tell me…they'd kill my family if I tried to escape or disobey them." I said, my lip quivering.

I wipe a single tear away and continue. "I knew they weren't lying...It happened to one girl already at the time, she would stand up to them... She's dead." I say, remembering the moment.

"She meant a lot to you." He could tell.

"Yeah." I hesitate before saying so. "They beat her to death. I was lucky enough to survive that day." I say. I look away and try to think happier thoughts.

"I'm sorry." He says. I smile and wipe away another tear.

"Don't be. If I wasn't where I was that day none of this would have happened. It was my fault from the beginning." I say, and then I stop. I'm getting ahead of myself here. I thought. I'm getting way to comfortable way to fast. I pull myself farther onto my bed and lean against the wall.

"Hey, that was not your fault." He made clear. I don't respond and hug my knees.

He gets up and walks for the door.

"I'll check in on you later." He says. I nod and he leaves. As soon as the door closes I can't hold in my tears any longer as they start to trickle down my face.

~0~

Coulson meets Rogers outside the door.

"Well?" He asked. Steve sighs.

"She kinda knew." Coulson raised an eyebrow. "She said that the people holding her were threatening to kill her parents if she tried anything." He said. Coulson nodded.

"Alright, we'll that's one less thing to worry about. If she's given the all clear when we don out her ability, I've been looking into some foster homes-"

"Are you sure that's the best thing for her right now?" He questions. Coulson gives him a look.

"Don't get attached." He says.

"I'm not getting attach-"

"Yes you are. When she's ready, we'll have to find her a foster home til she can find a family." Coulson says.

"How would you define ready for her?" He asked. Coulson was running out of ideas.

"What are you suggesting?" He asked. Steve shrugs.

"That she stays here..." Coulson narrows his eyes.

"Until she's fully ready and confident that she can be on her own." He adds.

"What makes you think she's not?" He demands.

"She won't trust anyone." He says.

"Except you." Coulson states.

"...that's different." He says. "I was probably the first nicer person she's seen in months." He says. Coulson smirks.

"She's not a puppy, Rogers. You'll need to get over it when she's gone." He turns to walk away.

"I'm not getting attached Coulson!" He raises his voice a bit. "I just care about it more than you." He said. Coulson gives a nod.

"If you say so." He says, and then walks off. He is left standing there.

~0~

At stark tower...

Natasha and Clint had gone back to the tower. Pepper greets them at the door.

"Hey!" She says. She gives Natasha a small hug along with Clint. "How was the mission?"

"It was ok, a success I would say." Natasha says; grabbing a soda from the fridge.

"Is Steve with you?" She asked, looking around.

"No, he's still on the carrier with his little friend." Clint smirks. Natasha punches his shoulder "Ow!" He hissed.

"What friend?" Pepper asked.

"There were some kids, at the ware house. They were tortured and some of them killed. He's been able to get through to the last one we have yet to find a family for." Natasha says.

"He's getting attached." Clint says with a grin. Natasha elbows his ribs. "Ow." He laughs. She rolls her eyes.

"You said she _didn't_ have a family?" Pepper asked. Natasha shook her head.

"Coulson looked at some disturbances in the past 72 hours; her parents were killed last night along with close family." Natasha said. "Coulson's been trying to find a foster home til we find out her ability".

"That's horrible." Pepper says. Natasha nodded. Then her face brightened. "She could stay here!" Pepper says. "Right Tony?!" She yells to Tony who was sitting on the couch fixing something as usual.

"What?" He asked after like a minute. She rolls her eyes.

"You know, until you find a home for her she could have one of the guest rooms." Pepper offers. Natasha sighs.

"I don't know Pepper..." She starts.

"Tell Nick, that she can. The offers open." Pepper says before getting back to cooking. Natasha just gives a nod and walks over to the couches and sits. She pulls out her phone.

~0~

Coulson was on his way to the bridge when his phone rang. He pulled it out. It was Natasha.

"Romanoff?" He starts.

"Hi Coulson. I told Pepper about the girl." She says.

"And?"

"She says she can stay at Stark Tower til everything's sorted out. It could help with her people skills I'll give it that. If she can survive Stark she can survive anything." Coulson smirks.

"I don't know. If she gets too attached to you all, it will be hard to send her away." Coulson says.

"Don't worry Coulson, we won't get attached. Just tell Fury."

"I'll talk it over with him." He hangs up and walks toward the bridge.

~0~

I was sitting on my bed, trying to think about my options. I knew the most obvious thing was they would put me into foster care. I can't deal with that. Needing to impress people so they'll take me home and give me a life? No thanks.

Maybe I could figure out something and just get a job, find an apartment. I can shoot, and fight pretty well. I'm a bit rusty. But it's not something you forget.

Maybe I could teach shooting or fighting lessons!

I'm taken out of thought when the door opens. I look up and see the guy called Coulson.

"Ms. Sanders, we've located a place for you to stay in the meantime." I give a small nod. "If you'll follow me, we'd like to get you ready." I hesitate.

Do I go with him? My breath gets quicker. I'm very nervous, Captain Rogers said he was a friend but can I take his word for it? He hasn't given a reason NOT to trust him yet though.

Making up my mind, I slowly get up and follow him out.

~0~

Steve walks into the communal floor of the tower. Pepper walks up to him.

"So when is she coming?" She asked. Steve raises an eyebrow.

"The girl, Kate!" She says.

Steve's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait,-" Natasha walks up.

"Coulson pulled some strings with Fury. She'll be staying here in the meantime." Steve hesitates before saying something. Clint comes up next to him.

"Be happy Cap, your little friend's gonna visit!" He jokes. Steve shoves him and looks at Pepper.

"When was this decided?" He asked.

"I think it was after you left the carrier." She said. He nods.

Pepper walks up to Natasha.

"Does she have anything clothing wise?" Pepper asked. Natasha shook her head.

"As of right now she doesn't own anything really." Pepper nodded.

"Here, why don't you come with me to get her some clothes?" Natasha gives her a look. "It'll be fun! Come on."

"Why do I need to go?" She asks in a pissed off tone. Pepper gives her a face.

"One, I don't know what she likes, and two I don't know what size she is." Natasha sighs.

"She's around my size a little taller though and she looks more tomboy." Natasha tries to sum up. Pepper nods.

"I know just the place!" She says excitedly.

A few hours later...

Pepper and Natasha had gone to 3 different stores and got a few outfits. Natasha made sure she had something comfortable, while Pepper picked out some outfits that were more fashionable.

~0~

The SUV pulled up at Stark Tower. I could see the front door.

Was I ready for this? Moving into Stark Tower?! I was an absolute fan of the avengers before everything happened to me. So living in Tony Stark's huge tower was just plain crazy.

I was so scared. _I'm really going to mess this up._ I thought. I'm going to drive everyone crazy. No to mention I hate when people pity, or try to help me. Even before it happened, my trust issues needed attending. My parents use to talk to me about it...I never listened...

Coulson opens the door and I look outside wide eyed. It was noisy and loud. Cars were everywhere same with people. _This was New York though._ I thought.

"Ms. Sanders?" Coulson grabs my attention and I cautiously get out of the car and look around. It was big, and different. I had never been to the city before, and I felt more vulnerable than ever now.

I follow Coulson to the elevator. He typed in a code and pushes a button. We begin to go up. I stare at the wall nervously. I didn't see Coulson eyeing me.

"Don't worry." He says. "As long as you just be yourself, you'll fit in just fine." He tells me. I swallow and nod. The elevator dings as we stop. I let out a shaky breath. _Here we go._ I thought.

It opens and I look around in shock. It was awesome! We step inside. A woman with ginger hair came up to me; I take a small step back.

"Hi Kate! Welcome, I'm Pepper." She says with a smile. I gave a small smile, but still remain closed off.

"She's a little shy." Coulson whispers. She nods.

Two other people enter the room; I recognized them as Natasha and Clint.

Natasha gives me a small smile and Clint smiles and sits on a stole.

"Well, I have a room for you ready if you want to see it." Pepper says. I look at Coulson who nods. I turn to Pepper and follow her.

...

Coulson walks up to Natasha and Clint.

"Report if you find anything out regarding her ability." He said. They nod and he heads for the elevator.

...

I follow Pepper into a room. She opens the door and a gasp escapes my mouth. It was amazing. There was a beautiful queen size bed with a forest green and brown comforter. And the walls were a cream white. There was a desk that matched the bed set and a dresser and night stand.

"I know it's not much but, it should do for now." Pepper said. I wanted to say otherwise. This was incredible. "There's a bathroom to." Pepper says. I follow her. It was also pretty neat- for a bathroom anyway.

There was a sink and an awesome mirror that matched the bed set. There was a little privacy for the toilet and there was a tub next to the shower in the corner of the room, two brown rugs were on the floor.

"T-Thank you." I say, still awestruck. Pepper puts a hand on my shoulder.

"It's the least we could do. Now, if you want to get cleaned up, there are all sorts of hair products and soap in the cupboards under the sink and clothes in the closet." She says. I nod and she leaves the room.

Alright, she's gone. I walk back into the room and look around. This was too much. I'm not used to all of this.

I walk over to the closet and open the two doors, a few different outfits were hung up and there was a skate board on the floor in the corner there was a tag on it with a bow. It said:

From Natasha and Clint

I smiled and look through all the outfits. Some of them said army on them. Thoughts of my brother started going through my head and I felt tears come to my eyes thinking about him. I push the thoughts away and I go over to the desk and look out the window in front of it. I open the drawls seeing all sorts of pens and pencils with other supplies. I looked for some plain paper when I opened the last draw and see a sketch book with a note on it. I pick it up and read it.

From Steve.

I smile and take the sticky note off it and open it up, I begin to sketch. As I sketch, I take a moment to stop and look out the window. Then the thought hit me. _I was living with the avengers._

**So there's the first chapter everyone! I hope you enjoyed it, please review. I love knowing what you all think! And I know this was a tad long, the other chaps will be (about) between 1500-2500 words. My updating days vary. Usually it's one chap per one-two weeks. Anyway, by for now!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two! I am so happy that I got reviews! I will try to fulfill your requests if you have any. Please enjoy this chap and review!**

Pepper was making dinner when Steve walks in.

"Where were you?" She asked. He shrugged before responding.

"Running." He walks over and grabs water from the fridge.

"Well you missed Kate arriving." She says.

"She doesn't need an audience." Pepper hands him a plate. Clint walks over and grabs two plates, handing one to Natasha.

"Pepper, has Kate eaten yet?" Natasha says.

"Um, no she hasn't. Steve could you take this plate to her?" Pepper holds out a plate. He nods; setting his down and taking hers to the elevator.

~0~

Steve walks up to the door and knocks. A second later it opens and Kate looks up. She gives a small smile.

"Pepper's orders." He says, handing her the plate of food.

"Thanks." She says, taking it.

"No problem." He says. She walks over to her desk and sits back down; he walks in and looks around.

"Hey, thanks for the uh, sketch book." She says hesitantly. He smiles.

"You're welcome; it'll give you something to do." He says. She smiles, nodding. She takes a bite of the fish and stops, staring at it.

"Wow. That's good." She says. He chuckles.

"You had fish before?" He said. She nods.

"Yes, but not for a long time. My mom use to prepare the best fish..." She says; her smile goes away for a second. The sit in silence for a minute.

"Well, I'll let you finish." He says. She nods and he walks out; closing the door behind him.

~0~

The next morning, I woke up from the best sleep I had this year. I flinch when I don't recognize where I am, then it starts coming back. I look up and see a beautiful view of the city.

I sit up and rub my eyes. Yawning I scoot out of bed and walk toward the bathroom.

"Good morning Ms. Sanders, I hope you are well rested." A voice says. I jump at the sudden voice and look around me. _Where the hell did that come from?_ I thought. "I do not think you will find me in the room Ms. Sanders." I remember Coulson saying something about this.

Some kind of AI called Jarvis.

"Um, good morning Jarvis." I say; then head to the bathroom.

After taking 15 minutes to decide on what soap I wanted to use, I took a long shower.

I come out of the bathroom in a forest green robe. I go to the closet to pick out an outfit.

~0~

On the communal floor, everyone, excluding Tony and Bruce who were still in the lab, was eating breakfast.

"Has anyone seen Kate this morning?" Clint asked. Pepper shook her head.

"Jarvis said she was up a while ago..." Pepper says. Just then the elevator door dings and Kate hesitantly walks out. Pepper smiles.

"Good morning, Kate. Did you sleep well?" She says from the kitchen. Kate smiles.

"Yes, thank you." She walks into the kitchen. Pepper looks her over seeing her wearing one of the new outfits.

She had on black ripped skinny jeans, a black shirt that said army, with a tan jacket over it with black combat boots.

"Oh my god Kate! That looks so good on you." Pepper says looking her over. Kate smiles.

"Thanks." She says with a laugh. Pepper handed her a plate and she got some food before sitting down. Clint and Natasha smile, and Kate returns the smile. Steve smiles too.

Suddenly the elevator door dings and someone comes out, Doctor Banner. Coulson had given her all the files of the people she was staying with.

"Bruce! Come meet our new guest." Pepper says. She gets out of the chair and gives a very small smile.

"Hi, uh- I'm Kate." She says, trying to stay confident. He holds out his hand and she shakes it.

"Oh yeah, hi. Pepper said you'd be coming." She gives a nod. The elevator dings again. "Oh, and I apologize in advance for anything Tony might, and probably will say." He says. She nods and smiles, sitting back down.

Tony walks out a second later and gives me a strange look.

"Ok…who's the kid and why is she here?" He asked. She chuckles.

"Tony, this is Kate REMEMBER?" She says rolling her eyes. He narrows his eyes, and then clasped his hands together; remembering.

"Oh, yeah. Hey kid." He says walking over and sitting down next to Pepper; she gives a small wave and a smirk.

~0~

After breakfast, I walked up to Natasha. She turns, giving a small smile.

"…uh, hi. Uma I-, I was wondering, if I could use the gym?" I asked, stuttering along the way. She lets out a chuckle.

"Sure, here; I show you where it is." I smile and follow her to the elevator.

We walk out of the elevator and into a very large room. _Now __**this**__ is a gym. _I thought. I follow Natasha inside.

"Well, here it is." I was awestruck, looking around at everything. There were punching bags, all sorts of training courses, everything you could possibly think of. We walk over to some training mats. "Alright, show me what ya got." Natasha challenges. I raise an eyebrow.

"Wait-…are you serious?" I asked. She nodded; a slightly mischievous grin on her face. _The Black Widow wants to see me fight. _I thought, my mind goes blank. _What the hell?! She'll kill me! _I thought. I sighed. Getting into a fighting stance. She gets into a fighting stance.

_Here we go. _I thought.

I make the first move, doing a round kick toward her head, realizing my mistake to slow. She goes down, pushing my leg up and I lose my balance. I fall back, landing on my back. She throws a fist at me and I roll to the right, and then jump back up. I twirl around seeing she turned. I block a punch and put my arm up, blocking my face as she sends a kick toward my face.

I feel her kick my feet out from under me as I hit the floor with a thud. I stare up at her for a spilt second before grinning and rolling to the left, I run at the wall, hearing her steps close behind me.

I jump forward putting my left foot on the wall then push off with my right foot, I back flip over her and land behind her. I stick the landing and put my fists up, ready to fight. She turns; a shocked look on her face. I let my guard down for a split second and she grins. Using her left foot to push my right foot out, she uses her arms and flips me over. I land on the ground with a thud and I groan. I stare up at her. She was grinning.

"You're pretty good." She says. I roll my eyes.

"That was nothing compared to what you can do." She slowly shakes her head with a small smile. She holds out a hand and helps me up.

"That move you did on the wall…where did you learn how to do that?" She asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh that? My instructor taught me." I say. _Did I seriously know a move that the Black Widow didn't know?! _I thought. She nods.

"I can't believe I am saying this." She says more to herself. "I have never learned that." She says. I let out a breath.

"Whoa." I whisper. She laughs.

"Here, how bout this. You show me that move, and I'll train with you." I stop and my mouth drops. _Is she freaking serious!? _I don't know what to say.

"I-I, u-uh…"I stutter. She chuckles. "T-Thank you…!?" I say excitedly. She smiles.

"Don't mention it." We started walking toward the elevator.

~0~

After taking a walk in the park with Pepper, and going shopping I walk into my room and sit at my desk. I pull out my journal. Pepper got me a journal to write in, she said and I quote, "It could help you express your feelings!" I had chuckled; Pepper was a really nice person. Sometimes I think too nice. I feel bad that she's giving me all this stuff and I barely even know her! Take about acts of kindness. So, I think what I'm gonna do is log my days here at Stark Tower. I already wrote for Day 1. Now let's get one thing straight, I'm not gonna be writing about my crush and my worst ay ever and all that crap. Whatever you think, it is **not** a dairy!

I pick out my favorite blue pen and begin to write.

_Day 2_

_Today was pretty interesting. I met Tony Stark and Bruce Banner! Tony was just as I expected, a big kid. And Dr. Banner was smart-looking…- if you know what I mean…. Anyway, I got a wonderful breakfast and got to eat with everyone. Then I got to go shopping with Pepper! I got some really cool stuff and we got to take a walk in the park as well, my first time as a matter a fact. After that, Natasha showed me the gym. Oh. My. God. I was awesome. Everything you can think of was there. And even better, I got to fight with her! Not to mention I knew a move she didn't know! *sigh* and you wouldn't believe what she told me next. She wants me to show her the move I learned AND she wasn't to train with me! Oh my god, this day couldn't get better! _

I am taken out of my thoughts when someone knocks on the door, I turn and walk over. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as I open it. I see Clint standing there. He had a mischievous grin. _Oh boy. _I thought.

"Hey, I need your help." He says, looking up and down the hallway like someone was coming. I raise an eyebrow.

"What would I be helping you with exactly?" I say. He smirks, and then pulls a roll of toilet paper out from behind his back. I grin, knowing his plan and follow him down the hallway.

~0~

Tony and Bruce walk into the lab, the lights were off. Then they turn on and they both stop. All they could see was toilet paper! Everything was covered. The suits, the counters, even Dum-E was rapped from base to top in paper. Bruce huffed. Tony looked around.

"Alright feathers, get your ass out here, now!" Tony says. Bruce chuckles; he could tell Tony thought it was a well-played prank.

…

Me and Clint were on the communal floor, quietly laughing while watching the cameras in the lab on Clint's SHIELD laptop. Pepper peeks over the couch; seeing what we were doing. We turn and immediately close the laptop. She raises an eyebrow.

"What are you two up to?" She says. I giggle.

"Nothing." Clint goes into a think positon.

"What answer do you want?" Clint says. Pepper gives us a look before turning, hearing the elevator door open. It was Tony! He glares in our direction.

"There you are bird brain! You are so in for it…" He says. Clint pushes me off the couch and we take off toward the stairs. Pepper chuckles. Tony watches us go. "She's in on it!?" He asked in a whiny tone. Pepper nodded, smiling. "Traitor!" He whispers.

~0~

After insuring our safety from Tony's wrath, I went back upstairs to my room. I wrote what happened with the prank in my journal and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

I come out a few minutes later, wearing a tank and some shorts. I crawl into bed and smile; staring at the ceiling. _Best. Day. Ever. _I thought. I adjust myself and close my eyes; drifting off to sleep.

**Now, I don't know if anyone noticed but I will be putting in a friendly relationship between Natasha and Kate. So review if there are any other requests or comments. I love hearing from you all!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three everyone! I'm glad a got another review! You have no idea how happy they make me; I'm a fairly new writer so getting feedback means a lot to me. Enjoy!**

I had been at the tower for almost two weeks now. I've really gotten to know everyone! I help Bruce in the lab sometimes and watch Tony test his suits when they're not blowing up. I've been sparring with Natasha a lot too and sometimes with Clint if she's on missions. I can't believe how much we actually have in common. At first she seemed very intimidating; but once you really get to know her, she's awesome!

I pulled on my sneakers and walked toward the elevator. I had started jogging in the mornings; it really helps to clear my head. No one knows about me going out to run in the morning and I want to keep it that way. If they start to worry than it will become a lot harder to get out.

I was wearing some shorts and a tank top; my brown hair tied in a ponytail. I wait for the door to open and walk out into the lobby. The sun was barely up yet and even then, it was loud and noisy. _As usual. _I thought.

I walked a few blocks before getting to the park and starting my routine.

~0~

Pepper was up early to get ready for work. She met Natasha and Clint on the communal floor. Natasha was sipping her coffee while Clint was reading something on his phone.

"Morning." Natasha says as Pepper entered. She smiles.

"Good morning." She says; walking over to the coffee pot at a fast pace. She grabs a coffee mug and gets her purse. "I'll be back around 6 tonight, ok?" She says. They nod and she walks out the door.

~0~

**An hour later…**

I jogged around a few trees and slowed down by a bench. Sitting down; I pull out my water bottle that I hadn't opened yet. I take the cap off and take a small sip. Looking around as I drink it, I see a few people walking around or jogging. I take a moment to look at my surroundings, despite the smelly city, the park wasn't half bad.

I still couldn't believe that I was living with the avengers. _I must be the luckiest kid alive._ I thought. Then thoughts of my parents and brother came back to me. I quickly take my mind off it and then throw away my empty water bottle and get up; turning in time to jump out of the way of someone running by.

"Oh! - Sorry, ma'am I didn't se-"I turn and see Steve. His eyebrows shot up. "K-Kate!?" He said. My eyes widened.

"Steve!? Wait- wha-"

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, cutting me off slightly. I blink several times before getting my voice.

"Uh-r-running, or-Jogging! - …jogging." I stutter like an idiot. "You?" He swallows, and blinks.

"Same, uh, how long have you been out here?" I shrug.

"I don't know, maybe an hour or so…" I scratch the back of my head.

"Does anyone know you're out here?" He asked. I stop, and swallow. He raised an eyebrow.

"Funny, you should ask…" I laugh. "I uh…well; I've been going out in the morning for the last week or so, I haven't told anyone." I said. He hesitated before nodding. I furrow my eyebrows. "…You're not mad…?"He smirks.

"No, you want me to be?"

"Well no." I laughed. There was a moment of silence.

"How much longer are you gonna be out here?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess maybe another hour or so." He nods.

"Well… I guess I'll see you back at the tower?" He starts backing up. I nod. He smiles then turns and continues his run. I turn the other way I start jogging again. Then a slowdown and stop; taking a moment to think I turn back around and run after him.

I run up beside him and he smirks.

"Might as well have someone to talk to." I said. He nods.

"So, how far do you usually go?" He asked.

"Usually a few miles, like 4-5 or so. Not too much." I say, looking ahead. "What about you?" He shrugged.

"Around ten or so." I whip my head around in his direction.

"Ten! Like 1-0, ten!?" He laughs.

"Yeah, every morning." I sigh.

"What mile are you on?" I ask in a groaning tone. He grins.

"Four." I groan louder in a playful manner as we keep running.

~0~

I was experiencing a new level of pain after the run with Steve, oh my god. I groaned around the tower this morning with every step. Clint couldn't stop laughing at me and Natasha felt bad for me for completing the run and let me have the day off from training. I was relieved.

I watched a few movies and had a can of soda, along with a small bag of chips and nacho cheese dip. Clint walks in and sits down next to me. Looking at the TV for a few minutes before speaking up.

"Hey, I guess you're not up for sparring right?" He asked. I laughed.

"Not really, unless you have something that doesn't involve me moving my legs." He grins and raises an eyebrow. I glance at him.

"What are you planning…?" I asked slowly. He smirks.

"Nothing really…" He says, putting his hands behind his head; leaning back. I sit for a moment, looking at the TV.

"Ok, spill." I say turning back to him. He grins.

"Follow me." We get up and I follow him to the elevator.

~0~

We walk into the gym and up to an empty area. He pushes a few buttons on wall panel and a case rises from the floor, three different bows were there. I raise an eyebrow. He gives a mischievous grin. He walks over to it and I follow.

"Pick your weapon of choice." He says, gesturing to the case. I look at all of them. There was recurve, a compound, and a double recurve.

"I'll take the compound." I say. He raised an eyebrow and handed it to me. He pushes a few other buttons on the wall and three different targets came up. I look to him and he gives me an arrow. He walks up behind me.

"Ok, so first you-"He was putting his hands up to help me when I lifted the bow and drew back; I let out a breath and released, hitting the third ring.

His hands were frozen midair as he stared at the target. Then he dropped his hands and stared at me, eyebrows raised. A small smile appears on my face.

"What? I took archery when I was little." I say. He smirks.

"Might wanna mention that next time!" He says playfully. I laughed.

"Give me something new then!" I say competitively. He grins and walks back over to the wall; pushing a different button. The targets go back into the floor. A moment later the ground started shifting.

Soon small, fake buildings loomed in front of me. The windows were open and hologramic figures were in them, shooting hologramic guns and switching windows; running back and forth.

I stare at him in shock. He leans against the wall; crossing his arm. He grins.

"You said you wanted new." He says playfully. I glared at him, then smile. Once turned back I gulp and raise the bow.

~0~

After my mistake of wanting Clint's version of new practicing toys, he showed me archery tips. How to better hold the bow, what to aim for, blah, blah, blah, etc. I was in my room now and after logging my day so far I started thinking about my best friend. Her name is Samantha Powell. Of course I call her Sam though. We had been best friend's sense fifth grade. I haven't heard from her sense and I presume she's dead along with my family.

I hear a knock on my door and I get up to answer it. Natasha walks in before I get there.

"Hey, what ya doin?" She says, walking in and sitting crisscross on my bed. I shrug. She raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" I smile and shake my head.

"Na, nothing really. Just thinking about a friend." I say. She nods.

"What's her name?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You really feel like hearing this?" I say. She nods. "Ok, her name is Samantha Powell. She's a year older than me." She nods.

"Where is she now?" I shrugged.

"Don't know, probably dead." I say, my voice saddened. Natasha puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, you can't afford to think like that." She makes clear.

"Just saying, all of my close family is dead, and she was one of the closest people I know." She stares at the floor for a minute before getting up, a slightly excited look on her face.

"I'll be right back." She says. I raise an eyebrow but nod, watching her leave.

~0~

I was now sitting on the couch on the communal floor or the tower. It had been a few hours sense Natasha disappeared from my room and I kinda wondered what she was up to. There was a sudden ding and the elevator door opens. I half expected it to be Natasha but it was Pepper. _Had a full day gone by already? _I thought. I look at the clock on the wall. It was 6:15. I smile at Pepper.

"Hey Kate." She says, sounding tired. I get up and follow her to the counter.

"Long day?" I assumed. She sighed and nodded.

"Like you wouldn't believe." She says. I chuckle. Then, Pepper's phone beeps, and a text message appears on the screen. She reads it, smiling. "Natasha wants you to go wait by the elevator," I give her a confused look, but do as I'm told.

I walk over and wait. The elevator door dings and it opens. I gasp.

**Cliffhanger! Ha-ha! You'll have to wait til the next chapter to see what happens! Hope you enjoyed this chap, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter everyone! I hope you're all enjoying it so far, and if you like it, please, please review! They get me excited and help me update faster. And also, feel free to review and tell me what you think should happen next. If I'm suffering writers block, believe me; I'll let you know! Now, this is a crazy chapter that will continue into chapter 5 everyone, so prepare! A lot happens. Anyway…enjoy!**

I gasp. It was Sam! She looked shocked, as she smiled ear to ear.

"Kate!" She yelled. I blinked; mouth dropped a big smile on my face.

"Sam?!" She squeals and pulls me into a hug. "B-But. I….Wha-, how?" I couldn't find my words til I look past, seeing Natasha smiling, still standing in the elevator.

"Ms. Rushmen told me about you and that you were still alive!" We pull out of the hug and I raised an eyebrow, but then receive a look from Natasha. _That must be her undercover name. _I thought. _Cool! _ I look back to her.

"I can't believe _you're _still alive." I exclaim; looking her over. She gives me a confused look and a laugh.

"What do ya mean by that?" She laughs a little, slightly confused. My smile fades and I look to Natasha. She comes out of the elevator, giving a nod and then walks over to Pepper. I turn back, giving a reassuring smile.

"Here, follow me." She smiles and nods. Following me into the elevator as we climb to my room, I take a deep breath.

~0~

Sam looked close to tears. I told her about my parents, we were now standing in my room.

"Kate…I am so sorry." She pulls me into a gentle hug. I nod, resting my head on her shoulder. "I wish I knew, but after I moved. I didn't speak to your parents' mu-"

"Wait, you moved?" I ask, pulling out of her hug. She nodded.

"Yeah, we live a few blocks away from here." She says; a small smile appears on her face. I brighten up.

"Really!? That's amazing!" I say; putting a hand on her shoulder. She nods.

"It's no Frederick, but it's ok." I smile. We sit in silence for a moment before Sam speaks up again. "So, I have question." She starts. I chuckle, looking at her; an eyebrow raised. "Why are you living in Stark Tower!?" She laughs. I laugh too.

"Long story. A very, very long one." I admit. She shrugs, sitting crisscross on my bed.

"I got time." She grins. I open my mouth to begin and stop. _Can I just start talking about the Avengers with her? I mean, I could accidentally give away classified info or what if she shouldn't be here in the first place? _I got lost in thought. Sam snaps her fingers in front of my face and I blink out of my thoughts. "So…?" I stare at her.

"I'll be right back." I run to the elevator and push the button several times. It finally opens and I run in. As the door slowly closes I peek out to see if she was following than bring my head back in as it closes.

~0~

I run up to Clint and Natasha after I emerge from the elevator.

"What can I tell her?" I start. Clint raised an eyebrow. Natasha hesitates.

"Well, what is she asking about?" She says in a calm voice. I let out a breath.

"Everything." Clint chuckles and Natasha's assuring face went blank. She thinks for a minute.

"Can I get back to you on that?" She says sweetly. I nod and she drags Clint into the kitchen. I go over to the couch and sit down. I hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

A few minutes later Pepper comes over. I look up and smile.

"So, on a scale of 1-10, how long have you known Sam?" She asked. I smirk.

"11" She gives a little chuckle.

"So, you trust her with your life." She says. I give a nod, and then laugh.

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that though." I say with a face. Pepper smiles; putting a hand on my shoulder before returning to the sitting area. Natasha walks over, along with Clint.

"Alright." She starts. I sit up straighter, waiting for a reply. "We'll go ask everyone if there ok with her knowing about them, and if everyone's in agreement…then you can tell her everything." Natasha says; a hint of sternness in her voice. I smile and nod.

I get up and run to the elevator.

~0~

A while later, Natasha had gotten everyone's approval. Now Sam and I were getting into the elevator, on our way to the communal floor.

We walk out once the door opens. I glance at Sam who was looking around at everyone. Surprisingly, everyone was here.

Clint was watching a new show airing on TV, Natasha was sending a mission report to that guy Director Fury, Tony was tinkering with the glove of his suit while making small talk with Bruce, Pepper was on the phone with someone from work, and Steve was reading a book, and having an occasional word with Clint.

Pepper looks up and smiles. So does everyone else. They all look at each other; Pepper puts her phone away and walks over.

"So, Sam." She begins. Sam makes a face, and then smiles. I chuckle. "We understand you want some answers?" She says a slight laugh in her voice. Sam glances at the people behind Pepper, than me. I smirk.

"...yeah..." She says slowly. Pepper chucked.

"Ok, well why don't you come meet everyone." Pepper leads her over to the sitting area. Natasha and Clint look up first, and then Steve does. "This is Natasha Romanoff. And-" Sam holds up her hands.

"Wait, you told me your name was Natalie Rushmen!" Sam says, feeling betrayed but smiling. Natasha just gives a small smile.

"And this is Clint Barton." She says. Clint smiles and holds out his fist. She shrugs and fist bumps him, grinning. I smile, _I'm glad they're warming up to her, sort a. _I chuckle to myself. "This is Steve Rogers." Pepper says; turning Sam around by the shoulders. Steve had stood up and held out a hand.

"Ma'am." Sam smiles, shaking his hand. I see her blush slightly and hold a hand to my mouth so I didn't laugh. "Tony!" Pepper yells to get his attention. He looks up, and so does Bruce. Bruce comes over first. "Sam, this is Bruce Banner." She introduces. Sam smiles and shakes his hand.

"Pleasure." Tony waves in her direction.

"Hi." And that was all. Pepper and I sigh.

"That's as close as he'll get to a proper introduction." I say, Sam giggled. Pepper looks around.

"Yeah, and that's everyone." She declares. I smile. Sam nods, looking at everyone, who was looking back at them. Sam looked at everyone for a second, turning and glancing at all the faces. He mouth was open like she wanted to say something. I knew she was catching on that I was kinda living with the Avengers. She continues to look and then her eyes widen.

"Y-your t-the..." She tries to get out. I grinned.

"The Avengers? Yeah. That's us." Tony says plainly, not taking his eyes off his glove. Sam gulped, and then a big smile appeared on her face. She ran toward me and grabbed my arm. I yelp as she starts pulling toward the elevator. We get in and it starts closing.

"Be back in a moment!" She says before it closes.

...

Everyone looks at each other.

"What was that all about?" Clint spoke up. Everyone shrugged.

…

The door closes and I look at Sam.

"YOU'RE LIVING WITH THE AVENGERS!" She screams; jumping up and down. I laugh, and nod.

"Yeah, Sam. I'm living with the Avengers." I repeat putting my hands on her shoulders to contain her jumping. She started waving her hands really fast and I chuckle. She starts taking deep breaths, she had a huge grin on her face and I couldn't start smiling. The door opens and we go to my room; opening the door, I close it behind us.

"Ok-" she walks over to my bed and sits down. I walk over, sitting next to her. "Just start from the beginning." She says. I nod; letting out a breath.

"Well...the day that SHIELD found me, they were on a mission; trying to take down the people that took me and several others, for-...a certain reason you don't need to know and I never really understood." She nods. "Yeah, so...uh, they were trying to find all of the hostages-including me- and Steve found me first..." I see her smile. She shoulders me.

"That must of made your day am I right?" She says nudging me. I look at her and laugh.

"You're the one who blushed when he said _hi_!" I laugh; bolding _hi _in my wording. She shrugged. "And plus, I didn't even recognize him at the time." I say. She raised an eyebrow.

"How?! He's Captain America." She says, sounding astonished. I stare off for a minute.

"I was being held against me will for 8 months, I wasn't playing the guess who game, Sam." I laugh. She giggled.

"So what happened next?" I think for a moment.

"Well, after I decided on going with them, I went to the Helicarrier thing, - or what her it's called. And-"

"Wait, wait-. Wait. When you _decided_ on going with them? Why wouldn't you?" She says.

"No, you don't get it. I didn't know who they were. Even if they were nice to me at the time I didn't know who to really trust. I couldn't be sure they would treat me like they did." I say. She hesitates before nodding.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." She pulled me into a hug. I give a small smile.

"Well, at least there gonna let me stay here in the meantime." I say. She nods, after pulled out of the hug, them she raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by mean time?" I sighed.

"I'm not living here forever Sam. I know there just keeping me here til I tell them more about why I was taken." She furrowed her eyebrows.

"We'll that sucks." She says. I shrug. She smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder. "At least you have them til that time comes." I smile.

~0~

After Sam went home, I went back to the communal floor. As I entered, I saw everyone looking in my direction.

I slow down. They didn't look mad, but not happy either.

"Ok, what did I do wrong? - Was I being too pushy about Sam? - or was it-"

"We're not mad Kate; we just need to talk to you about something." Steve says. I nod, walking over and siting on the couch. I look around, turns out, Tony and Bruce weren't here.

"So, I heard you talking to Sam." Natasha spoke up. I stop, my breath caught in my throat.

"What did you hear?" I ask, slightly mad, but didn't show it to much in my voice. They all look at each other.

"About you only being hear for a certain reason." Natasha says. I gave a nod.

"Kate weren't not going to lie to you, but your right." Steve says. "We thought that if you spent some time with people you could trust than it would be easier for you to get back out there." He says. I nodded again. I knew I would be here for a reason but not like this. I thought.

"I know that's not it." I look at him. He furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not stupid. I know you all are trying to figure out my ability." I say. All of their eyebrows shot up.

I look at them; they looked defeated on that one. Natasha looked clueless for a change on what to say, Clint had his mouth open as to say 'ooh…busted!' And Steve looked clueless on what to say as well, Pepper was avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"I uh, I don't know what to say." Steve admits. I keep my eyes on him, and then look at the floor.

"You know if you had just asked me from the beginning I might have told you. But sense it was done this way, how do I not know you're trying to by my friendship, so you can report to Fury about my progress and if you can get rid of me yet?!" I say in a serious tone.

"Kate, it's nothing like that." Natasha says in a gentle voice. I shake my head.

"You might as well send me to a foster home now instead of later because I'm not telling you my ability." I get up and walk to the elevator. It opens and I go down to the lobby.

I run out the door and away from the tower.

...

They all sat on the couch stunned. Steve got up first and was about to walk toward the elevator when Natasha stopped him.

"Just give her some time. If she doesn't come back then we'll go look for her." He thinks about it before giving a nod and sitting back down.

**There you go! That's a cliff hanger for ya! Check in to see what happens to Kate! The next chap is like a part to of this. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5… (4½) :)

**Ok, so this is like a part two of chapter 4. You will also receive a bit of info on Kate… *evil laughing* Enjoy!**

I knew I couldn't trust them, they don't really care. They just wanted to figure me out. If I let them tell Fury about my ability, than they could do whatever they wanted.

They could experiment on me, dump me in a lab. Or just send me off the foster care, they didn't really care; they just needed to know if I was a threat or not.

I run down the streets, I needed to get as far away as possible. I run across the street, cars honk at me but I ignore it. Running through a crowd I pass a few stores.

...

It was dark, probably like 11pm. I had been running for an hour straight. I ran in front of a taxi, it stops and honks.

...

Sam looks up as the taxi puts on the breaks. Someone ran in from of it that she recognized. Kate! She thought. She threw the money up front and got out.

...

"Kate!" I hear my name and stop. I turn and see Sam running toward me. I sigh, and then smile. She looked worried. "What the h are you doing out here?" She says. I was breathing hard.

"I-I can't live with them." I say between breaths. I rubbed my chest from the cold; arms crossed. She looked shocked.

"Why not? I thought you loved living with them?"

"I thought I did, but it was all a set up. They were just trying to get through to me to get information about my kidnapping. It was all a lie." I say, my face was red. I felt like I was going to snap.

Pity was in Sam's eyes; she looks at me and sees me shivering.

"Oh!- God, your freezing." She starts taking off her jacket, under it a hoodie. She puts it around my shoulders. My teeth chatter and we get onto the side walk. "Here, why don't I buy you something to eat?" I shiver and nod, now realizing how cold it was out. I took out my phone and saw the temperature was 50 degrees! We start walking down the street.

~0~

Kate and Sam were walking around the city, after getting shwarma.

"God, Kate. I can't believe we were living so close for weeks and didn't see each other." Sam says. I shrug.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy." Kate says. They walk in silence for a few minutes.

"So, are you ok?" Sam asked. Kate smiled.

"Yeah, I let my guard down too quickly. If I hadn't, it wouldn't have been a big deal" She admits. Sam shrugs.

"It's just...I can't imagine how hard those 8 months must of been." Sam says. "Trying to hold on not knowing if you'd ever get out." She says. Kate nods.

"Well, you can thank SHIELD for-" Kate slows down. Sam looks at her.

"What?" She looks ahead and sees what she's looking at.

Three big dogs were staring them down, about 50 yards ahead.

Sam takes a step back.

"Run. Now." Kate says. The dog's lip's rise up into a snarl and growl as they start to walk toward them.

"Run!" Kate says, pushing her friend ahead. They take off, away from the tower as the dogs gain on them.

_This can't be happening!_ Kate thought. _After everything I survived, I was gonna die by some dogs? _She looks behind her and sees them about 20 feet away and gaining. Sam keeps running straight when Kate runs down an ally. _I can't believe I'm about to do this._ Kate thought. Sam looks behind her and stops.

"Kate!?" She yells. Suddenly a huge black wolf leaps out of the ally in front of the dogs. It's lips raise into a snarl as it stares them down. The dogs bark and growl; standing their ground. Sam puts her hands on her head as she watches in shock. The wolf growls and barks at them. One dog runs at the wolf, and then the other two follow. One of the dogs tried to bite the wolf's neck. The wolf dodges it and sinks it teeth in the dog's leg, it whines and suddenly the two other dogs advance.

One bites down on the wolf's upper front leg and the wolf whines in pain. The wolf snarls and gets the dog off it and stares don't the two dogs still there. Sam pulled out her phone and dialed a number. The brown dog leaps at the wolf wrestling out to the ground and the other one runs toward Sam. Sam goes wide eyed; she closes her phone and starts running.

The wolf looks over seeing the dog running after her. It bites down on the one dogs paw, sinking its teeth in before shaking him off and taking off toward the Rottweiler chasing Sam.

Sam runs with the strength she has left. She looks back for the dog when she doesn't see the uneven side walk and trips, she turns over and just as the dog reaches her the wolf barks and jumps on him and wrestles him to the ground growling and snarling. Sam watches in horror as the wolf pins him down, growling as to say make a move and I kill you.

Suddenly the brown dog bites down on the same fore leg, pulling it off the dog. The wolf whines and can't get loose. It shakes its head violently, tearing off some flesh. Sam looks for something to help. She sees a metal pole next to an ally way. She gets up and runs over; picking it up. She runs at the dog and

_Wham!_

She nails it right in the side; it whines and takes off with the other two wounded dogs. The wolf was still lying on the ground and blood was seeping over the pavement. Sam ran to its side.

"Kate?!" She says. The wolf looks up at her with big eyes. Suddenly, the wolf form changes and it turns back into Kate.

"God dammit!" Kate yells, holding her arm where the jacket was ripped to shreds and quickly filling with blood. Sam looked really worried. "How did- you know-?" Kate asked.

"About your ability?" She asked in a gentle voice. Kate nods. Sam then shakes her head. "Not the time for it, we need to get Bruce." She helps her friend up.

"N-no. I...want a hos...pital." She makes out between breaths.

"It's too far, Stark Tower's just around the corner." She helps Kate toward the tower.

~0~

It was the first time I used my ability in so long. _I can't believe Sam knew!_ Kate thought.

The elevator dings and Sam was half dragging Kate onto the communal floor. Everyone was surprisingly there. They look up and looks of horror cross their faces.

"Oh my god! What happened!?" Pepper says running up to them. Steve gets there first and helps Sam get a half conscious Kate down stairs to the lab.

"W-we attacked by some dogs, Kate was trying to protect me when one almost ripped her arm off." Sam says; she looked close to tears. We get into the lab; Bruce was there he looked up shocked.

"What happened?!" He asks.

"Dog attack, she's bleeding out." Steve says. They place her on a table and Bruce comes over.

He pushes up the sleeve revealing a bloody mess. It was a mostly clean cut. There were four long gashes down her arm from the teeth, but also some flesh missing from her arm too.

"We need to stop the bleeding." Bruce says, getting a first aid bin from under the table. He pulls out disinfectant chemicals and puts them on the raps.

He presses them on her arm. He eyes shoot open and she hissed.

"God dammit, Banner!" She says. "Be careful, I'm not made of steel ya know!" Clint smirks.

"Even after getting mauled by a dog you still got a sense of humor." He says. Kate lets out a painful chuckle, biting her tongue for the pain.

...

**A few hours later...**

It was about 2am and Bruce was finishing up. After cleaning out the wound, Bruce starts rapping my arm in bandages. He pulls it tight and I winced.

"Sorry, but no one ever said recovery was painless." Bruce chuckles. I roll my eyes.

"It hurts more than it did before." I complain, sounding pissed off.

"That's because you were falling in and out of consciousness." Bruce says with a smirk.

He tightens it a bit more before letting go.

"Well, you're all set." He said.

"Thank you." I say, he gives a nod and I head for the elevator.

~0~

**Meanwhile...**

"And you're sure she didn't do anything unusual?" Natasha asked. Sam shook her head.

"No, she hit one dog with a metal rod she found in an ally...but it all happened so fast... I don't remember anything out of the ordinary." Sam says, remembering the moment. "Why?" Steve, Clint and Natasha glance at each other.

"No reason, we just wanna make sure she's alright." Steve says.

"Of course I'm alright." Kate says, no one hearing her entering. She sits on one of the stools. "Why wouldn't I be?" She says giving them a look when Sam's not looking. "Hey, Sam." Kate gets her attention.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna talk to you about something." They get up and head toward Kate's room.

~0~

Once they enter her room, Kate turns and closes the door. "Alright, start talkin." Kate says. Sam gives her a confused look.

"What do ya mean?"

"How did you know about my ability?" Kate says in a quieter voice. Sam sighs.

"Your parents told me everything." Kate's eyes widen.

"And you didn't think I should know that?!" She raises her voice.

"I was protecting you!" Sam says.

"What?-...How?" She asked.

"Think of it this way. If I hadn't known, how would you have ended up last night? Would you change back anyway? Either way, I would have found out and I could have told them about you back there but I didn't." She says. Kate understood now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know they were asking questions." Kate says, she walks over and hugs her.

"It's fine." Sam rolls her eyes. "What are friends for, am I right?" She grins.

~0~

"I think she knows more than she's telling." Clint says.

"Yeah." Natasha says. "Something when down last night, we need to find out what it was. We know Kate won't say anything, so we need to find another way to clear this up." She makes clear.

"We could check security cameras on the street. Maybe we'll see something." Clint offers. They all nod.

"But what if she's telling the truth?" Steve says. "Kate hasn't told any of us yet what her ability is. And if she thinks no one should know about it and its worth getting mauled by a dog over- if Sam's telling the truth- then we need to try something else." He says.

"Like what?" Clint demands. "What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know." He says back. "I think what I'm trying to say is, maybe she's keeping this from us for a reason."

~0~

After Sam went home after dinner that day, I started drawing another wolf in my sketch book. After this kinda thing happens I always love drawing. It clears my head. I do a layout of the body before I start with the details.

I can't run away from this. Might as well just wait til they throw me out.

...

After finishing my picture I get changed. I come out of the bathroom in a tank and some sweatpants. The sun was going down and I feel like crap. I crawl into bed and turn the light off.

~0~

_The dogs jumped at me with teeth covered in blood. I felt my flesh being ripped from my bones as they started to kill me. There growling and barking filled me ears._

I shoot up out of my bed. A cold sweat was drenching me and my heart was beating extremely fast. I look around for the dogs.

"Are you ok Ms. Sanders? Do you require assistance?" Jarvis says.

"N-no Jarvis, I'm fine." I take a deep breath and let it out. I look at the time. It was 2:43. Sighing I get back under the covers and drift back off to sleep.

~0~

It had been a few days sense the incident, and I couldn't sleep. Nightmares of that night haunted me. I couldn't get them out of my head. I forgot how much my ability took a toll on my body. I was weak for days after. Not to mention my arm, but it was getting better.

I get up out of bed and look at the clock, I just had another nightmare again. It was 4:45am. I groan and get dressed getting ready for my run.

~0~

I jog past a few benches; I wasn't planning on breaking today for a drink. I kept jogging, I wasn't getting tied yet so I went a bit faster. Someone jogs up beside me and I don't look at them.

"I'm sorry if you took what we said the wrong way." Steve says. I keep looking ahead. I can't out run him obviously so might as well ignore him. "But it wasn't a setup, Kate. You know we do care about you right?" He asked. I keep looking ahead. After a few seconds I just nod, to make him happy. We jog in silence for a few minutes.

"If knowing my ability was so important, than why didn't you just ask?" I say. He doesn't respond. "I probably would have told you. But you all thought you needed to gain my trust first, and once you found out my ability, you would have dumped me in a foster home." I say. He glanced at me, but didn't say anything.

It starts raining and I feel my clothes getting drenched. It started to down pour. Steve slowed down. I kept going.

"Why don't we head back?" He says. I slow down and stop. Starring ahead.

"I'm gonna keep going." I say, I pick my jog back up and he gently grabs my arm. I whip my head around at him.

"Come on. Your gonna catch pneumonia. Let's head back." I glare at him for a moment, and then nod. He lets go of my arm and we pick up the jog again. I stayed behind him on the jog back.

~0~

By the time we reached the tower we were drenched. My brown hair was matted against my face, and my clothes were uncomfortably wet.

We walk into the elevator and have a silent ride up. The door opens and I see Pepper sitting at the dining room table, a frustrated look on her face.

She looks up and smiles. I give a brief small smile, then go back to my closed off mode and grab an apple from the counter before going back to the elevator toward my room.

...

Steve sat down across from her. She looked at him; he was drenched.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Started raining." He says, leaning on his fist.

"You know what I mean." She says. He shrugs, taking his hand away from his face and leaning back in his chair.

"She's pissed off, and I don't blame her." He says. Pepper sighs.

"Just-, try not talking about it. If she seems like she doesn't want to talk about it then don't bring it up. Give it time." She says. He nods.

"And were back to square one."

~0~

Once in my room I throw the wet clothes in the laundry shoot and got in the shower. I put the water on hot and just stood in it. It burned, but I didn't care.

I can't trust them now, I can't let them get close, and I can't let anything about my ability out.

...

After getting out of the shower and getting dressed in one of my new outfits, I looked at the clock. It was only 7am. I groan and sit down at my desk. I open the draw and see the sketch book. I slam the drawl shut and sit there; staring out the window.

I don't know what to do. Most of my schedule included someone there. Usually Natasha, Steve, and Clint. And those happened to be the only people close to Fury.

I get up and head for the elevator. I was wearing worn jeans with a navy blue tank and a red flannel with navy chucks. I sigh as I walk toward the elevator. This was going to get interesting.

**And there it is folks! You got a hint on her ability! We don't know what it is for sure yet so keep checking for updates and see what happens next! Hope you liked it! Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter everyone! I hoped you liked the last few chapters. I also wanted to give you a little history on the coming of this story.**

**My first story, -if you haven't read it yet- was originally going to be about a girl named Kate with an ability, same story and everything, just her name was changed and she also had an ability on top of everything. But it evolved into a girl named Alex and how her parents weren't who she thought they were. I thought up this story a year or so ago when I was on vacation. I had written the first chapter at that time. Yeah, so… time went by and I actually forgot about it. And about a month ago I was cleaning out my documents and found it! I read it and didn't think it was half bad so I uploaded it! **

**Yeah, so that's the origins of this story! Ok, I'll shut up now and give you your chapter. **

It had been almost a week sense all that crap about my ability happened. I don't want to think about it, but that's all that I _can_ think about. I had stopped training with Natasha, and I wasn't doing anything prank-like with Clint. I did still run, but I took a different route every day.

I pulled off my running sneakers and put them in my closet. I had just finished my run, and I really felt like training with Natasha. But I can't get close to them. Soon enough I'll be going to a foster home or something anyway. I can just use the punching bag.

I changed into some sweat pants and a t-shirt, before headed to the gym.

…

I walk out of the elevator and onto the gym floor. I walk over to the punching bags and set my water bottle down on one of the benches. I look at a few of them and pick the one in the corner. I walk over and put my hand on it; then I put my head up against it; taking a few deep breaths. _This is so complicated. _I thought. I let my hand fall away after a few seconds; I lift my head up and throw my first punch.

It actually felt pretty good. I threw another and a few more. It stung my knuckles a bit but I ignored it, sense I wasn't wearing gloves or raps or anything it stung even more. I kept throwing punches; putting my angry into each one.

~0~

I was in the gym for a few hours throwing punches, at one point I couldn't feel my hands. But for some reason I hadn't stopped. My knuckles were almost black from bruising; I walked around the tower with fingerless gloves so no one would see it.

I walk out of the elevator and onto the communal floor. I grab an apple from the counter and sit on the couch. I turn on the TV and flip through a few channels. I look at my apple as I take a bite; flipping through the channels; listening for something interesting. I take a bite and hear a familiar line.

I look up and see Star Wars episode I. I smile. I was a huge Star Wars fan. It was at the part where Anakin was about to start the pod race. It was one of my favorite parts in the movie…Despite the little crush I had on him when I was little…

I stare at the TV as I take a bite of my apple. Suddenly, the elevator opens and Pepper walks in with Sam. I look up and smile. Sam walks over and sits down next to me.

"Hey." She says. I just smile.

"Hi." She looks at the TV for a minute.

"Oh hey!" She says. "Star Wars! I haven't seen this is forever." She adjusts herself on the couch and watches with me. I chuckled and continued to watch. After a few moments of silence she turns to me. "So um, how are things? - around here anyway." She asked in a quiet tone. I shrug.

"Quiet, I don't want to get any closer to them, but I can't help it." I tell her. She nods.

"You know, one day. You'll look back on this and think: Why didn't I just make the most of it?" Sam looks at me, with a serious face. I don't respond as I look at the floor.

~0~

A few hours later, Sam and I had gone out to lunch. Clint made both of us carry knives, in case of any K-9 encounters. I had rolled my eyes, but Sam made me take it. We went for Subway, one of my favorite places to eat on crappy days like this.

We had both gotten foot long subs and half a dozen chocolate chips cookies. Like is said before; on crappy days like this we go full out.

After that, we had gone to the park and walked around for a bit. I just stared ahead as Sam gave me lectures on how I should enjoy the time I have with them, and blah, blah, blah… Sam eventually went home and I was now in my room.

I logged my day so far and a thought came to mind. I walk over to my closet and open the double doors; I see my skateboard hiding behind my combat boots from Natasha and Clint. I grin and pick it up; getting the matching, black helmet and run for the elevator.

…

I walk out onto the sidewalk in front of the Tower. I clip my helmet. Before I drop my skateboard I look both ways, in hopes as to not get run over. Dropping it and jumping on, I cruised across the pavement and jumped the curb; onto the sidewalk.

~0~

Coulson scooted past a few agents, walking onto the bridge of the Helicarrier. Fury was growing _really _impatient with Kate and was about ready to send her to the sandbox. He walks up to Director Fury. He turns; pinning his gaze on him.

"Coulson, have you found _anything _**yet**?" He asked. Coulson shook his head.

"They're trying their best Sir, but after the incident a week or so ago she's become more closed off. " Coulson explains. Clint and Natasha had called in the incident with the dogs to Fury. Fury huffs, pressing something on the control panels a bit harder than necessary.

"Find it out, or I will." He makes clear. Coulson gives a nod before turning around and walking toward the flight deck to go to Stark Tower.

~0~

**Two hours later…**

It was about 3pm and the sun was going to set soon. I was still skating around the city. I jump off the curb with my board and turn down a darker road. It wasn't too bad; maybe a bit messy and criminal looking. But I wasn't worried too much.

I skated past a few dumpsters and here something. I stop, slowing my board down. I look around; it sounded like a bottle being smashed. How original right? I narrow my eyes and keep going. The road was looking a lot darker now. It looked pretty much deserted.

For some reason I felt like I was being watched, I try to ignore I as I keep going. I could hear what sounded like running and I turn around too late. Someone grabs me from behind; putting an arm around my neck. My skateboard flies out from under me and I try to look around to see who it was. There were other people there too. I heard a car pulling up behind me and my breath started quickening.

"Hurry." I hear a guy's voice.

"He needs her at the Sandbox ASAP." I hear another guy say. _The Sandbox? _I thought. _What the hell is that? _I get taken out of my thoughts as I act. I use my right foot and curve it around his foot, pulling forward, causing him to loose balance. I feel the arm loosen and I push it around, pressing back as far as it went. He cried out in pain and I push his arm til I hear a crack. I push the guy over and see three men run at me.

One of them pulls out a gun and I freeze. He grinned as one guy walks up he grabs my arm and I twist it away, and then kick him in the ribs. He winced and comes back. He glares at me and punches me right in the mouth. I fly back, hitting the pavement with a thud; rolling a few feet. I groan and spit out blood, my vision blurry. Another comes over and nails me in the ribs with his foot. My eyes fly open as a feel his foot practically move my ribs apart. I try to hold in my cry of pain as I wrap an arm around my side.

"Enough. He doesn't want her dead when we get there." One says. "What the!?-"I hear a scuffle going on as I don't get up. I hear a gun go off and I want to look up, I move a bit and feel a bit of pain in my side; but not too much. Suddenly all noise stopped. I hear footsteps coming toward me and I think fast. _If I punch the person in the face it might give me the chance to escape! _I thought. I wait to the person is right on top of my and I roll around and send a punch directly at my target. The figure catches my punch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Steve flinched at my sudden attack. I furrow my eyebrows.

"W-What the hell!?" I yell. He lets go of my hand and I scoot back, sitting up. "How did-, what are you doing here?!" I yell at him, pushing myself to my feet.

"What are _you _doing here?!" He raised his voice slightly.

"_Skateboarding!" _I say in a smart tone. He throws his hands in the air like it's obvious.

"Oh, yeah. Cause that _really _looks like skateboarding." He gestures to the guys knocked out behind him.

"I was handling it." I say; limping slightly, over to my skateboard.

"You were about to be kidnapped _again, _Kate." He says. I scoff.

"Like it would have made a difference, and you never answered my question. What are you doing here?" I make myself clear.

"I saw you go down _criminal valley_ a bit ago." He says. I make a face.

"So you followed me?!" I say.

"Where would you be now if I didn't?" He asked. I huff; I stare at the ground, and then wipe away blood from my busted lip.

"I'm going back to the Tower." I grumble. I was about to throw my skate board out when he grabbed it. I raise an eyebrow. "What the hell Cap! Give me my board!" I say, he holds it above my head as jump up; trying to get it.

"Nope. You're not riding back after that. Let's go." He says, walking back the way we came. I groan and reluctantly follow him.

~0~

We got into a taxi and were on our way back to the tower. Steve glanced down at my hands. They were black at the knuckles.

"What happened to your hands?" He asked. I look over, and then look at my hands.

"Punching bag." I answer. He raised an eyebrow.

"There's a reason they have raps for that." He says with a small smile.

"No pain, no gain." I respond; looking out my window. He nods in agreement after a few seconds. We sit in silence the rest of the way back.

~0~

The taxi pulls up to the Tower and I open the door and run out.

"Kate!-"Steve yells, cutting short as I run in the door; throwing the money up and getting out and running for the elevator. I get there first, pushing the button a gazillion times before it opens. I push the close button and it closes just as he reaches it. Stopping just as it closed. He sighed, and then glanced at the stairs.

…

A few minutes later I ran out onto the communal floor. Clint and Natasha were there and Tony was fixing something at the counter. Pepper wasn't home yet. They look up. Clint furrows his eyebrows first, seeing my busted lip and black eye.

"What happened to you?" He asked in a concerned voice, getting up. I shrug.

"Nothing." I turn around and Steve was suddenly standing there; arms crossed.

"No, it wasn't _nothing._" He says. I huff, and then furrow my eyebrows.

"You seriously did not run up all those stairs just now." I say in a serious tone.

"What happened Kate?" Natasha walks up concerned. She lifts my chin; inspecting my wounds. I shrug again.

"It was nothing.-"I say louder.

"She almost got car knapped." Steve says in an over exaggerating tone, leaning against the counter.

"What?!" Natasha looks at him; then me. "Are you ok?" She asked me very seriously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assure her.

"Well you don't look fine." Clint says; handing me a wet rag. I put it up to my busted lip.

"You should have Bruce check that rib." Steve says. I glare at him; doing a slashing movement across my neck.

"Rib? - what happened to your rib?" Natasha asked. I throw my hands in the air.

"Nothing! I'm fine!" I say. They stare at me for a moment.

"Don't mind me. It's not like I'm here or anything." Tony says from the counter. Suddenly the elevator dings and we all look in that direction. Coulson walks out; seeing me banged up and bruised. He furrows his eyebrows.

"What happened to you?" He asked. I wave my hand in Steve's direction, expecting him to explain.

"Not much, just a scuffle in an alley." He says. Coulson nods. I scoff.

"Yeah, they wanted to take me to the _Sandbox_." I add in a creepy voice with an evil smile. They all look at me. "What?" I say, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Did you say sandbox?" Clint asked in a serious tone. I nod slowly. Clint folds his arms; then turns a glare on Coulson. Everyone else looks at him. I just raise an eyebrow.

"Fury." Coulson mumbles.

~0~

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Natasha and Clint yell in sink at Fury. I lean back. Fury came to the Tower. Don't know why; I'm honestly clueless right now.

"Kate could have gotten seriously hurt!" Pepper yells. We told her when she got home. I had a feeling she wouldn't take it well.

"It was not the intention to harm her, just to transport her to the sandbox." Fury says. Natasha was pointing knives at him. (Not literal knives of course, but her eyes might as well have been knives.) Clint looked like he was going to send a punch flying at his face.

"Why didn't you just come here?!" Clint says.

"That's not how SHIELD works Barton; she wasn't cooperating with you people so we needed to speed things along." Fury sends a glare at him.

"And when were you going to tell us she was taken by SHIELD?" Pepper asked.

"Rogers wasn't supposed to be there at that time so we hadn't planned on explaining any of this." Fury says.

"So you weren't going to tell us you kidnapped her and shipped her to the sandbox." Steve sums up. Fury lets out a breath. Pepper turns to me.

"Kate, why don't you go to your room." Pepper says quietly. I look at everyone, then her and nod. I slowly walk to the elevator and walk in and it closed… But I didn't pick a floor number. I listen in on the conversation.

…

"You should have given us more time with her." Natasha says.

"Romanoff, we don't have all the time in the world do deal with burdens like this. " Fury says.

"She's is not a burden." Bruce speaks up. Fury glanced at him.

"She can be a pain with feathers at times… But Banners' right." Tony adds. Clint rolls his eyes.

"You too." Fury mumbles. They sit in silence for a bit longer. "You're all getting attached to this kid. She has to go." Fury says. He gets up and goes for the stairs.

…

I feel tears come to my eyes as I push the floor number; I walk out when it stops and run to my room.

**There's you chapter folks! A bit has happened and Fury got a bit more time in this one. Tension is rising, and Kate doesn't know where she belongs. Check in for chapter 7 to see what happens next! And Thor will be in the next chapter for you Thor fans!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter everyone! I told you Thor would appear in this and Jan and Darcy will have an appearance too! So I hope you like this chapter!**

After Fury left and I went to bed that night I woke up past my alarm. I had slept in. I groan and look at the clock. It was 8:46. I roll out of bed and go get dressed.

A few minutes later I went down to the communal floor, I opened the fridge and took the whipped cream bottle out, squirting it into my mouth; as I did so I hatched an idea. I swallow the cream and grin.

"Jarvis." I called.

"Yes, Ms. Sanders?" He replies.

"Order several dozen packs of whipped cream and pie pans." I smirk at my thought.

"Very well, Ms. Sanders. But I do get the feeling I will regret sending in this order." He says. I smile.

"Don't worry Jarvis, it will be fine." I evilly grin and chuckle.

~0~

I was making dozens of little whipped cream pies; they were covering the counters and kitchen. I had made at least 5 dozen already; I was planning to prank **everyone!**

I hear the elevator ding and I grin. I grab the pie and run up beside the door. It opens and Steve walks out. _Must be coming back from his run. _I thought.

"Hey Steve!" I yell. He turns and I nail him in the face with one of the pies. He flinched at first, then I saw his shoulders relax. I throw my hands in the air laughing. "Bulls eye!" I yell. He wipes the pie off his face and looks at me, raising and eyebrow. My smile goes away. He grins and I back up. "No, no, no, no, no." I yell, running to the counter. He follows me. I run to the opposite side of the counter and he is on the other. I grab a pie and kneel down; my back to the counter; I chuckle to myself. A pie flies over and hits the fridge. I look up. I chuckled.

"Alright, come on out now. I'm done." Steve says. I raise an eyebrow and then stand up; facing him. Suddenly, a pie hits me square in the face. I flinched as it blinded me. I hear him laughing as I wipe it off my face. I nod.

"Smooth, real smooth." He was still laughing. I pick up a pie, walking up to him, pushing it into his face. He backs up and wipes some of it off; throwing it at me. I run away; toward the counter, picking up a pie as I go. He throws another at me and I duck, but on the way back up I get hit I'm the shoulder. I throw one at him as he ducks.

...

A few minutes later, the elevator dings. We both look up; my hand was in the air; about to through a pie and Steve had grabbed his shield and was hiding behind it. We grin and go to either sides of the door. It opens and Sam walks out.

"Hey Sam!" I yell. She turns and both of us throw pies at her. She screams; holding up her hands to block the pies and runs toward the bar. We follow and she runs around the counter and we stop waiting for her to peak out. Steve looks at me and grined; he puts a pie right on my face; smearing it around. I throw my hands in the air.

"Typical." I say, spitting it out.

"No one ever said time!" Steve laughed. Sam peaked out with her phone and took a picture. We look at her. I grin and hold up two pies.

"Oh sh-!" Sam ducks and the pie skims her head.

...

About a half an hour later, we were still having the pie fight. Sam was still hiding behind the bar. No one heard the elevator door open and Pepper walks out and stops, looking shocked. I had somehow gotten the shield and Steve was about to throw the pie at me when we both froze. The entire kitchen was completely covered. And I mean completely!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She asked. We glanced at each other. I walk up to her; covered head to toe in pie.

"Was that outfit expensive?" I asked. She gives me a strange look.

"Well no-"

"Do you like it?" I push in. Steve smirked.

"It's not my favorite-" I bring the pie out from behind my back and push it into her face. Steve let a laugh escape his mouth and Sam gasped. Pepper gasped and wiped the pie away from her face. I laugh and hold the shield up in from of me; backing up. I back up to far and Steve dumps a pie on my head.

"What- the? - "I grab some whipped cream off the counter and throw it at him. He tries to dodge and grabs a pie on the floor; throwing it in my direction I hits my leg and I slip on the cream on the floor, but regain my balance. Pepper had walked over to Sam, looking tired as she wiped the cream off her top and face. Sam gives a reassuring smile. I picked up a pie and throw it at him, he dodges that one and I back up and slip, falling on my butt. He laughs and picks up another. My eyes widened with a smile as I get up and run for cover. He grabs me from behind and holds my arms down; I yelp as he puts a pie right in my face.

"Ok, ok." Pepper walks out. We stand up straight and I spit out whipped cream; glaring in his direction. He just smirks.

...

Pepper had gone to clean up and was going to give Sam something to change into. Steve and I were "cleaning up" the kitchen, with the occasional throwing of pie. The elevator dings and we chuckle, exchanging a glance; once again, going to opposite sides of the elevator. Clint walks out.

"Hey Clint!" I yell. He turns and I nail him in the face. He leans back in shock as the pie came in contact with his face. I break down laughing. Clint looked in shock.

"Classic. Very impressive." He says. I giggle, knowing he didn't know Steve was there. Then Clint turns and Steve pushes a pie right into his face. Now that caught him by surprise. "What the-!?-"He wipes it off his face and sees Steve chuckling. "You're workin with the enemy!" He says to me; then looking at Steve.

"There are no sides here." I grin. He looks at us.

"W-well, this means war!" He says with a grin.

...

Pepper comes out in jean shorts and a tank top, and gasped along with Sam. Steve had Clint in a head lock; in play of course; while I was about to throw a pie at his face. We freeze seeing Pepper. She sighed.

"Are you kids done yet?" She asked. I don't see Steve and Clint exchange a grin.

"Nope!" Clint says. He grabs me and I collapsed, laughing while Steve puts a pie in my face. The elevator door dings and Natasha walks out. We all stop again. She raised an eyebrow. We all look in her direction; exchanging glances.

"Do I really wanna know?" She asked. Clint lets go of me and we all stand up.

"Not necessarily." Clint says. I giggled. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. Pepper clasps her hands together.

"Alright. I'll get a cleaning crew up here. Natasha, can you escort the hooligans to their rooms so a war doesn't break out in the elevator?" She asked Natasha nodded with a smile and we all laugh as we make our way to the elevator.

~0~

That was the most fun I had had in a while! I did feel a bit weird at first, but Sam did tell me to make the best of it. So that's what I did. I was surprised that Steve stayed and fought as long as he did, he just seems so serious most of the time that it shocked me when the first pie hit me in the face… of course Clint joining in was expected, knowing him.

I walk into my bathroom. Apparently, Thor was coming today with Jane and her intern Darcy. After taking a shower to get the whipped cream out of my hair; I dried my hair and I wanted to look fairly descent, so I put on my favorite black ripped skinny jeans and my black army shirt and tan jacket with combat boots before retreating back downstairs.

As I walk onto the floor. I see the cleaning crew packing up; there wasn't any whipped cream left. It looked darker in the room now sense it didn't look like a winter wonder land anymore. I walk over to Sam. She shrinks into the couch.

"You don't have any cream or pies do you?" She asked. I smile.

"No, Sam. I do not." I tell her; holding up both my hands to show her. She smiles and sits up.

"Good." She says in a sweet tone.

~0~

A few hours later I hear the elevator door ding and look up from my book. Yes, I was reading a book, book. Not an electronic one. It opens and I see Thor walk out first in some actual earth clothing! Jane followed and so did Darcy. Pepper looks up from the counter; she was getting out plates and stuff for the 5 pizzas we ordered, with cheese sticks.

"Oh-, you're here!" She walks up.

"Yeah, finally." Jane sighs, hugging Pepper. Darcy was looking around and Thor was eyeing the pizza boxes. Pepper glanced at me; who was looking a bit frightened by the newcomers.

"Oh, um. We have a guest here." She waves me over. I get up and walk over. "This is Kate." She says with a smile; her hands on my shoulders. Jane shakes my hand.

"Hi, I'm Jane." She says. She glanced behind her. "Oh, and this is… Darcy." She says.

"Sup." Darcy holds up a peace sign. I smirk. Thor was actually over by the pizza boxes now, and was about to slip a hand into the box when Pepper lightly slapped him.

"Ah, ah, ah! Now til everyone gets down here." She says sternly. "And, Thor." Pepper says pointing to me. "This is Kate." He turns to me and smiles.

"I am Thor, or Asgard." He greets. I smile and nod. I mouth a _pretty cool _to Pepper. She chuckles and gets out some napkins.

"Jarvis, tell everyone to hurry up and get down here!" She says.

"As you wish Ms. Potts." He responded.

~0~

Dinner was fun. Thor eats at least two of the five pizzas and Clint and Tony couldn't stop arguing over who got the last slice of chocolate cake.

"I saw it first I should get it." Clint says.

"Well, I was living in _my_building first, so I technically **own **the little slice of goodness!" I couldn't stop laughing as I watched their little fight. Eventually Thor just picked it up and shoved it into his mouth. The room grew quiet and Tony was the first to speak up.

"What. The hell." He said. Clint snorted, and Natasha rolled her eyes.

…

Soon after dinner Jane and Thor had to go. I felt a bit sad. It was fun having them around! And Darcy was a riot, I would miss her. But she gave me her number so we can text. I stood back as they said their goodbyes and watched them go. The room grew quiet and everyone stared at the door for a minute.

I go over to the fridge to get some water; I open it and see a familiar sight. Whipped cream can. I feel the corners of my mouth twitch into a smile and I take the can out of the fridge. I creep up behind Steve and squirt it at him. It hits the side of his head and he flinched. I snort along with Clint.

He turns to me, looking fairly pissed off. I chuckle.

"What? Now were even!" I say. He cracks a smile, and a sigh.

"You just had to have the last word didn't you?" He says whipping it off. Pepper immediately walks up.

"That means there will be no more whipped cream throwing in this Tower!" She makes clear.

"Aw." Me and Clint whine. She shakes her head, handing Steve a paper towel.

~0~

After going into my room and locking my doors so I didn't wake up with whipped cream anywhere near me, I got into some shorts and an oversized T-shirt. I snuggled into my bed and smiled before closing my eyes.

**There's your chapter! I hope you liked it! And I know Thor's appearance was a bit short but knowing him he probably has Asgardian things to attend to… and- well…yeah. There was a bit of bonding time between Kate, Steve, and Clint so if you want more of that or I can do some of her with other people too, please review and let me know! So! I know you will be glad to hear it when I say, you will find out Kate's ability in the next chapter! Please review if you like it!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

**I told you, you would find out Kate's ability in this, so I shall keep my promise! This chapter will be a lot longer, so please bear with me! Enjoy this chapter!**

About a week and a half had gone by sense Fury's little visit… I really despise that guy. I listened to what Sam said; I was making the best of the time I had with them. I did pranks with Clint, sparred with Natasha, and took the same running route with Steve.

Since then; the days have been going by really fast. Not knowing when Fury will have me kicked out is keeping me on edge. Everyone could tell, and they would try to ease my conscious by distracting me with something to do… That just made it worse.

I continued to sketch out Stark Tower in my sketch book when I hear something going on outside my door. I lean out; listening on the conversation.

"_You ask her. I'm stayin right here." _I could tell that was Clint.

"_You're such a weirdo, I'm going in." _That was Natasha. I quickly look back at my sketch book; hearing my door open. "Hey Kate." She says. I turn around. "Were going to go get shwarma for everyone. Wanna come?" I grin and nod.

"Sure, but let me get dressed first." I was still wearing my Iron Man pajama pants that Tony insisted I get, and a tank top, despite it being 4pm. She gives a nod.

"Meet you in the lobby." I nod and she closes the door. I run to my closet and look through my clothes. I pick out some jean shorts, a tan shirt that said **ARMY **and my black combat boots, before running to the bathroom the get changed.

~0~

I walk out of the elevator and see Natasha and Clint waiting. Natasha sees me and smiles. I smile as I walk up beside them. We walk out the door and across the street before making our way to the joint.

A few minutes later we arrived. I follow Clint in while Natasha does the talking to get our food. We wait a few minutes before getting our food. Clint hands me two bags and Natasha grabs a few and Clint grabs the remaining two. We walk out of the store when Clint drops one of them.

"Oh-, shit…" He leans down to pick up the splattered food. Natasha rolled her eyes with a huff.

"How the hell did you manage to drop that?" She asked.

"I don't know!" He says in a childish tone.

"You were holding one in one hand and one in the other, how could you…-"I zone out of the conversation as I'm looking at my surroundings. I see a several people entering the park and some exiting. A few people pass in front of us and my view of the park is blocked for a second. I lean to the left; and see something. A mother and her daughter; who looked about 4 were entering the park. I smile, remembering the times my mom would take me to the neighborhood park.

But that moment ended when a guy came out of nowhere and grabbed the mother's purse. I tense when I see her shout at the man to let go. The daughter had run behind the mom. I drop the food and run across the street toward them while Natasha and Clint are still talking.

…

Clint picks up the food and throws it in the trash.

"I'll go buy a new one, Kate could you-"He turns and see Kate gone; and the food sitting on the bench beside them. He looks around. Natasha furrows her eyebrows; looking around too.

"Now where'd she go?!" He asked sounding confused. A scream fills the air as Clint and Natasha's heads jerk to the left seeing the guy trying to now grab the mother. Clint huffs before the both of them run over.

"Hey!" Natasha yells. They were almost on the other side of the street when a big animal leaps out of the bushes. Clint and Natasha come to a complete stop.

It was a Bengal Tiger. It growls and pieces the air with a chilling roar as it jumps in front of the guy and bats at him with claws sheathed. The guy yelps; jumping back and falling; and the purse goes flying. Clint and Natasha watched in shock as the Tiger doesn't show any aggression toward the man, just giving plane warning signs to back the hell off.

The guy kicks at the Tiger but doesn't reach as he is scooting back. The mother was in shock; lying in the grass. When the man had let go of the purse she flew back to the ground. She was breathing fast and the daughter was looking mortified. Clint runs over behind the mother and child.

He gently grabs her arms and pulls her back to her feet and steps in front of them. Natasha walks up beside him. The guy yells and gets up before fleeing. The tiger gives one last roar in his direction before turning to the mother and child.

It looks to its left; seeing the purse and pads over; picking it up in his mouth. It turns and walks toward them. Clint holds his arm out in front of the mother and her daughter in a protective manner. The Tiger stops and stares at Clint; then his arm, and then to the mother and child. It was about 10 feet away from them. Natasha was holding the girls hand when she lets go and runs out in front of them. Clint doesn't see her til its too late goes to grab her but she runs over to the Tiger.

"Tigger!" She squeals. The Tiger lets the girl take the purse and she pats its head. The Tiger nudges her face with a purring noise and she giggles. The adults look at the two of them in shock; mouths open. The girl waves bye to the Tiger and runs back to her mother. Clint slowly had lowered his arm. The mother leans down, looking close to tears; holding out her arms from her daughter. The girl giggles and toddles over to her. "Here's your purse mommy." She says. The mother pulls her into a hug and picks her up with a smile.

Clint and Natasha stood off the side. They turn to the Tiger; who was just standing watching the little family. By the way it eyed the two; it looked like a glimmer of sadness appeared in its eyes. It turns to Natasha and Clint and gives them a calm look with its piercing eyes. They could see now that one was dark blue and the other ice blue. It's gives them one last look and runs off into the bushes. Clint and Natasha had a staring moment before turning back.

The mother walks up to them with the girl in her arms. "Thank you so much." She says, putting a hand on Clint's shoulder Clint smiles.

"Don't worry about it." He assures her. Natasha gives a nod and she walks toward the road at a fast pace to call a taxi. Now Clint and Natasha noticed camera crews were there and had gotten a bit on film. They roll their eyes before walking across the street and disappearing into the crowd; taking off their hoodies so no one would recognize them.

They walk a block, keeping an eye out for Kate.

…

I run around a corner; breathing heavy. _Well that was interesting. _I thought. I keep walking and look ahead to see Natasha and Clint with the bags of food. I run up to them, trying not to breathe hard like I was doing something elsewhere. Clint looks at me with a priceless face.

"Where the hell were you!?" He raised his voice in a playful manner. I shrug, trying to slow my breathing.

"I uh, thought you were behind me." I say. _I hope they'll by it. _I thought. Clint gives me a look that he shares with Natasha.

"Alright then, here carry that." He nods; then hands me two bags. I smile and nod; following them back. _Well that was easy. _

~0~

Back at the tower I was helping Pepper with something on her computer at the bar; when Natasha, Steve, and Clint were on the opposite side of the room on the couches.

…

"She's lying." Natasha says casually; looking at Kate with a straight face. Clint turns to her.

"Well of course she is. You really think she dropped the food and just kept walking?" He says. Steve had an eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"When we were getting food, this dude was trying to take this woman's purse, and the good people we are; had gone over to help." Clint says with a smirk.

"Except a _**Bengal Tiger**_beat us to it." Natasha finishes. Steve took in a breath; holding it like he was about to speak.

"Wait-, so…" He starts.

"It didn't hurt them, it chased the guy away and acted like a house cat after that! Loving up to the mother's daughter..." Clint says with a weird face. Steve just nods; then looks at Kate, and then back.

"So what does she have to do with this?" He asked. Clint and Natasha exchange glances.

"We don't know exactly, but she disappeared right before it all happened and then just appeared out of the blue after it was over, plus gave us a pretty lame excuse as to why she ran off." Clint says. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"What are you implying exactly? That Kate's the Tiger?" He says with a smirk. Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Hey! Anything's possible." Clint defends; pointing at him.

…

I gulp, over hearing their conversation.

"Hey, Pepper. I'll be right back." I get up and walk to the elevator. Pepper watches me go.

"Um, ok. Just, be back soon were gonna eat." I give a nod and walk into the elevator; catching a glimpse of Clint, Steve, and Natasha glance at me.

~0~

I run to my desk and pick up my phone; calling a number. It rings a few times.

"Hello?" I hear Sam's voice.

"Sam! There on to me." I say.

"W-what?" She says.

"My ability. There on to me, help!" I say. There's silence for a minute.

"How did they get closer to finding out?"

"They saw me." I say.

"They saw you shift?!" She says. I sigh.

"No, after that. I kinda disappeared right before, and then came back right after." I say.

"Ah, well that makes sense." She says.

"Yeah…"

"So what were you doing exactly?" She asked.

"I saved this lady and her daughter from getting robbed." I say.

"Oh yeah? Did you enjoy it? - being the hero." I hesitate, rethinking the whole experience.

"Yeah, I guess I did." I say after a minute.

"Well, you could always do that you know; be a hero…Just don't get caught!" She adds. I grin.

"Will do. I'll give it a try." I say bye and hang up before retreating down stairs.

~0~

**Two days later….**

I woke up to the sunlight in my face. It had been a couple days sense my first save. It felt nice to do some good around here. I sit up and rub my eyes; swinging my feet off the side of the bed. I get up and grab my running shoes, shorts, and shirt before walking to the bathroom to change.

A few minutes later I come out of the bathroom, teeth brushed, dressed, and my wavy hair up in a ponytail. I walk to the elevator; pushing the down button and wait for the door. A few seconds later it opens and I walk in. I wait for the door to open and walk out; seeing Steve waiting at the front door. He turns when I walk up.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be." I reply. He smirks and we walk out the door and pick up a jog.

~0~

An hour later, we were jogging around a bend in the park. I was getting much better at this running thing… well, I knew he was going a lot slower than he normally does when I'm taking his route but, you understand what I'm getting at. We pass a few trees when I heard something. I look around Steve as we're running and see a guy running to a car will a young child; around 2 maybe. It was crying and I could hear police sirens in the distance. A man and woman ran out screaming and yelling. I have extremely good hearing because of my ability.

I remember Sam's words; then forgot about a very important variable that will get in the way. _Great, he's not gonna let me out if his sight._ I thought. I look around for some kind of distraction. I see a water fountain.

"Keep goin I'll catch up." I slow down to a stop. He turns and stops.

"Where are you going?"

"Just to that fountain." I say. He raises an eyebrow.

"We had a water break 5 minutes ago." He says with a smirk. I hesitate.

"…Well, I'm still thirsty." I say, making my point. He puts his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, I'm going left, so you know." He says. I nod. He turns and continues. I look around for people before running into the bushes.

...

Steve continues to run after he took the left turn. Suddenly a cry fills the air and he jerks his head around to his right. A big cat ran across the street and took a flying leap onto a pickup truck bed. He furrows his eyebrows as he runs to the edge of the road. The big spotted cat roars in a man's direction as he was running toward said truck with a child firmly under his arm. He comes to a dead stop seeing the big cat. A low growl comes from the cat; its ears all the way back on its head. The man lunges for the truck door and the cat roars at him; batting at him with claws unsheathed. The man curses and the cat growls and leaps; jumping off the truck in front of him. The guy drops the kid and runs for a car. The cat runs forward and the kid falls onto it, it hissed at first from the weight, and then sets the child down gently by the shirt. After nudging the kid; and seeing the parents run up, the cat growls and runs after the man; leaping onto his back and knocking him to the pavement. The guy yelps as he twists over; the cat on his chest. It roars up right into the man's face; showing the whites of its teeth.

Police cars roll up and officers exit their vehicles; locking down the area around the scene. Police hold their guns up to the cat and man. The cat's ears perk up at seeing the officers. It bites down on the guy's sleeve. He yells for it to let go, punching and kicking but the cat ignores it as it pulls the guy toward the officers. The officer's watch as it drops the man down at their feet before giving them a look. The officers don't lower their guns but their fingers were slowly coming off the trigger. One officer puts his gun away and grabs the man slowly while eyeing the cat; putting him in hand cuffs. He gives a slightly confused but grateful smile and a nod before the other officers get him to their car.

The cat looks around; seeing camera crews and tons of people that had watched the whole thing. The cat takes a few steps toward the park. It looks around and someone catches its eye. Steve was looking at the cat in shock. The cat stops; mid step. Staring at him, its ears perk up, and its eyes go wide. Steve could now see that the Leopard had two different colored eyes; one dark blue and one ice blue. They had a moment of just staring til the cat walks toward the park entrance and runs across; disappearing into the bushes.

~0~

Steve watches the cat run into the bushes, before looking around. Kate hasn't come back yet. He runs over to the path, looking both ways. Suddenly, Kate runs around the corner at a run and stops.

"Where'd you go?" She says, breathing heavy. He blinks a few times before finding his voice.

"I was-, just..." He trails off. Rethinking what just happened. Then he realized something. "Where did _you_ go?" He asked. Kate raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean; I took a left like you said." She says.

"We were going that way." He points in the opposite direction. Her eyes get a bit wider and she gulps once.

"W-We were?" She asked. He gives a slow nod. She stares at him for a minute. "Uh,... Oops." She says with a nervous smile. Steve just gives her a slow nod.

"Let ahead back." He says. She smiles and they pick up a jog. _What was that all about?_ He thought.

~0~

Back at the tower, we had an extremely quiet ride up to the communal floor. Once the door opened I walked quickly over to the fridge, wanting to get away from any question Steve might ask. He sat down on the couch while I was at the fridge; drinking a cup of milk from the night before.

"So, that whole time, you were getting a drink of water? And didn't hear the Commotion going on at the entrance?" Steve finds his voice. I stop drinking my milk; setting it down on the counter.

"Yeah, what commotion?" I ask. I knew I was a really, really, REALLY bad lair, but maybe I could steer him off.

"A jaguar or leopard… whatever it was; stopped a kidnapping in broad daylight, out of nowhere." He states notch handedly." I gulp.

"Uh, wow. Wasn't expecting that. What happened?" I lean against the counter. He shrugs; standing up and walking over.

"Well..." He pauses with a sigh. "Some guy had taken this kid when a big cat jumped into the bed of a truck and refused to let the guy leave. " He says. I nod slowly. "Then it dragged the man over to the police to be taken away." He adds. I nod, feeling uncomfortable. _I really hope he's not catching on._ I thought.

"That's really interesting, but uh-, I'll be right back." I back up; making my way to the elevator and heading to my room.

~0~

I walk over to my phone and call up Sam. I hear it ringing before someone picks it up.

"Yes Kate?" Sam says warily.

"Yeah, Hi. Uh, yeah, so about what you said a few days ago... Do you really think this is a good idea?" I ask nervously.

"Kate, it's up to you." You said yourself you like saving people, that it makes you happy. So if that's what you like doing then do it." She says. I hesitate my response.

"Ok, it's just... There getting closer to figuring me out and I don't know if I should tell them." I say.

"Well, do you trust them?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But it's not them I'm worried about. It's SHIELD."

"Ok, so if you really don't want anything getting out, I would wait a bit. And when you're ready to tell them, you can." She says in a reassuring voice.

"Ok then. - But... What if they find out before I'm ready to tell them?" I ask.

"Just explain it to them, they'll understand Kate." Sam says. I sigh and nod.

"Ok, thanks Sam." I say.

"Don't mention it." I smile and hang up. I put my phone on my nightstand and sit down at my desk for a moment: looking out the window. _This is complicated. _

~0~

"She's up to something." Steve starts. Natasha and Clint were sitting on the couches along with him.

"Oh, you just caught on to that now did you?" Clint says in a happy voice. Steve sends him a glare.

"So, she wasn't there for the whole thing?" Natasha asked. Steve shook his head.

"No, she needed another water break after our first one five minutes before."

"Was she showing signs of being tired?" Clint says. He shakes his head again.

"Actually, she was picking up the pace a bit today. She wasn't breathing hard; didn't even break a sweat." He says. Clint furrows his eyebrows; thinking.

"We need to get more information. Just, let's keep an eye on her." She says to the both of them. They all nod.

~0~

**3 days later…**

I looked over the water as the sun was going down. Pepper and I were spending some quality time together; she's been so busy at work we have hardly seen each other all week. And I wanted to get away from Natasha, Clint, and Steve sense they were practically stalking me around.

Pepper walks up with two ice creams. I smile as she hands me my soft served vanilla cone. She got strawberry.

"Thank you." I say. She smiles.

"You are very welcome." She says; raising her chin with a smile. I laugh. "So how have you been?" She asked; turning to me. I hesitate; looking over the water, I turn back and smile.

"Good. I've been good." I say. She smiles.

"I'm glad to hear it." She says. We stand in silence for a minute. I look over the water again. Despite the smelly city, this was beautiful. The way the sunset reflected off the water really put my mind at ease.

I look over the water somewhat behind Pepper. Something caught my eye and my facial expression goes dark. I could see a boat slowly sinking at the mouth of the bay. I glance back at Pepper quickly. I clumsily lick my ice cream and it gets all over my face. Pepper laughs.

"Oh!-, here, let me get you a napkin." I smile.

"Thanks Pepper." She smiles and leaves. I swipe the ice cream off my face and look toward the water. I look around me seeing no one looking in my direction. I crawl under the railing and jump into the water.

~0~

Pepper comes back with several napkins but stops up short when no one is there. She looks around.

"Kate?" She calls. Pepper starts walking around; looking for the teenager.

People start walking past her toward the railing; taking out there phones and looking with mouths open. She turns and sees what's causing the commotion. There was a fishing boat sinking into the mouth of the bay. Fins could be seen in the water.

Pepper didn't know what to do; she kept an eye out for Kate as she watched. Someone behind her dialed 911, or whoever you'd call in that kinda if emergency.

...

The fisher men that were on the boat had to jump; the boat sunk into the bay and out of sight. The shredded water as they kept wary eyes out for any uninvited sea life. Suddenly, a small fin appears in the water. One of the fisher men points at it as it circles them in deadly silence. The fin makes a half circle; now coming toward them. They panic; swimming back as fast as try could when suddenly, a different animal joins the scene. It rams the shark and bites down on its tail. Black and white splotches could be seen on it.

It was a killer whale. The Orca bites on the shark's tail, making the shark move around, trying to face the whale. The Orca suddenly flips over; taking the shark with it. People watch in awe as the shark enters tonic. The shark clams and goes into the drug like rest. The whale was still upside down. The whale lets go; allowing the shark to regain itself and swim off. The whale swims up to the sailors; making several squeaking noises. The sailors look confused. The Orca swims up beside them; it's front fin in front of them. One sailor swims forward and holds onto the fin.

The other sailors just watch. The Orca blows; sending spray into the air. The sailor's takes that as a hurry it up and hold onto the fin. The Orca starts to swim back to the railing when the people were standing; Pepper had gotten to the front. It swims up beside the rail and people reach out to pull the people up. Once they were all on, Camera crews seemed to have arrived before any law enforcement did. The Orca squeaks and waves to them. There are several "Aw!"s from the crowd til the Orca swims off.

Pepper got a picture and was going to show it to Kate, when she found her. She looks down at the two pictures she took. She got one of the left side of its face and one of the right side of its face. She noticed something different. The Orca's eyes were to different colors. One was an icy blue and the other a dark navy blue. She smiles at the pictures. Then she remembers what she was supposed to be doing. Pepper walks away from the scene and looks for Kate.

...

I run around the ice cream stand and see Pepper walking frantically around looking for me. I run up and she sees me... Soaking wet.

"Kate?! Where were you?" She asked me in a worried voice. I take in a deep breath.

"I was watching that whale when I got pushed over the railing!" I say in shock. She looks at me in shock too.

"Who?!" She says in a protective tone.

"I don't really know, I think someone bumped me when walking by and I fell in." I say; my teeth chattering. It was August, so slightly cold. She takes off her jacket and gives it to me.

"Let's head back." I nod and we go to the road to call a taxi. _That was easier than I'd thought it'd be! _

~0~

We walk back into the tower and everyone was there, including Tony and Bruce who came up to get a quick bite.

"What happened to you?" Clint smirked. I give a sarcastic laugh.

"Ha-ha." I say.

"Kate was pushed over a railing." Pepper says. Everyone furrows their eyebrows.

"Wait, what?" Steve spoke up.

"Well, this Orca saved these sailors from a sinking ship. I was looking for Kate right before but she had already fallen in I guess. I found her right after the Orca left." She says; rubbing my back. _You could have worded that any other way Pepper! _I say in my head.

Clint, Natasha, and Steve exchange glances. I gulp.

"I'm gonna go change." I say; hurrying to the elevator. Pepper smiles at me. Clint, Steve, and Natasha get up and walk over.

"So, you didn't know where Kate was the whole time that Orca was there?" Clint asked. Pepper shook her head.

"Well, you don't need to make it sound like I was being irresponsible." She says in a playful tone. They exchange glances again.

"About that." Clint laughs. "We've all had our 'disappearing Kate' moments." Clint says. She raised an eyebrow, and then shakes her head.

"I got these pictures." She says, holding out her phone. They all look at them and they're eyebrows shot up.

"I saw that same thing!" Clint and Steve say at the same time. They look at each other.

"Wait, the whole light blue dark blue eye thing?" Clint says to him.

"Yeah, I saw the same thing on a different animal." He says. Clint laughs.

"Whoa."

"This is getting weird." Natasha mumbles, rubbing her head.

"So, we've all seen the same set of eyes on several different animals?" Pepper says. They all nod.

"Kate defiantly has something to do with all this." Clint says in a low voice. Pepper raised an eyebrow. Clint looks at her.

"Long story…." He says. She gives a slow nod before walking to the kitchen to talk to Tony; who was stuffing the last piece of chocolate cake from the night before into his mouth.

~0~

I come out of the bathroom after I took a shower. _I have to tell them. _I thought. _They're going to find out sooner or later anyway. I can't stand stalking around anymore. _I say in my head. _If they ask about it, I have to tell them._

I then realize what I'm saying and thoughts of SHIELD pop into my head. I need another source! I pull out my phone and dial Sam.

"Kate, what is it now? Who did you save?" She says in a tired but playful voice.

"I think I'm gonna tell them if they ask. They know that I'm involved somehow, and I can't hide it anymore. I just don't know what to do about SHIELD." I say.

"Well, I would tell the Kate. If you feel comfortable with them knowing, then you need to tell them before you change your mind. And don't worry about SHIELD. If you don't want them knowing I'm sure they can figure something out." She tells me. I swallow.

"Ok, wish me luck."

"Break a leg!" I grin and hang up. I make my way to the elevator.

~0~

I walk onto the communal floor, taking a deep breath. I see everyone at the table eating. I take a seat next to Pepper, Clint was across from me and Steve and Natasha on either sides of him. Tony was next to Pepper and Bruce at the center/end of the table.

"Ok, Kate. We need to talk to you-"

"About my ability?" I finish; swallowing. There is silence.

"Yeah." Natasha says. I nod.

"I'll tell you." I say. Clint asked. It looked as though they were leaning in to hear it like I would whisper it or something. Tony was half may to putting a carrot into his mouth while everyone else had put the forks down waiting for me to speak. _Oh god, this is it. _I thought. Natasha was giving me a look, like saying "well?" playfully. Clint looked excited. Steve was the only one who looked pretty calm about it, that actually helped me a bit. Bruce was just looking at me over his book. I take a deep breath.

"I'm a shape shifter."

**Boom. There it is. Yep. Like it? Hate? PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know that this is good or not, and I'm open to requests! Thanks for reading. I know this was really long, but so much happened but I promised you it would be in chapter 8. So, ya! **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! I will try to fulfill your requests. And ****kadrules2014 ****I had to borrow your thought and make it reality… ;) Enjoy the chapter!**

"I'm a Shape Shifter." Everyone's eyes widened. Tony started choking on the carrot he had put in his mouth. Everyone glances at him. He chokes on it for like 10 more seconds. I watched him wide eyed. _Was it that much of a shock!? _I thought.

"No shit." He blurts out after he got a breath. I smirk.

"That. Is. Bad ass." Clint holds out his fist and I pump it with mine.

"Wait-… so, you can-"Steve finds his voice.

"Shift into animals. Yeah." I finish. He nods slowly. Pepper looked shocked. Bruce looked intrigued in the conversation.

"So, were you born with this? Or was it experimental?" Bruce says. I shrug.

"I honestly don't know. I've had it for as long as I can remember." I admit. He nods, putting a hand to his chin.

"So why were you against telling us?" Natasha asked. I look at the table.

"Well, at the place." I start; refereeing to the ware house. "They, tortured me; and when I lose control emotionally, I can't control my ability." I say. She nods.

"So what did you think we were gonna do to you?" Clint asked. I shrug.

"I wasn't really worried about you all; it was SHIELD I was worried about."

"Well, that's understandable after Fury's visit." Steve says. I give a nod.

"What happens exactly?" Tony asked. "Do you hulk out like Banner?" He jokes. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Actually, it's kinda like that." I say. He stops laughing. "When I lose control, the first animal that pops into my head I change into. From there, I'm gone. It all depends on the animal's behavior." I say. "So, if it was a bunny. Nothing would really happen. But if it was something like a bear or a wolf…" I trail off. They all nod. "But if I'm in control then my mind is still in the animal. Even if I'm not in control I can still contain some of it." I add.

"So, that was all you. The tiger, the leopard, the Orca…" Steve says. I nod.

"Yeah, sorry I ditched you all." I say with a smirk. I remember one other. "Oh, uh… also, about those dogs." I start. Everyone raised an eyebrow. I laugh. "Yeah, I didn't get that injury in…. well, human form. I fought them off in wolf form." I admit with a straight face.

"Really? So, you were protecting Sam… did she know?" Natasha says. I nod.

"I didn't know that she knew, but I had to take that chance." I say quieter. Pepper puts an arm on my shoulder.

"It was a brave thing to do." She tells me. I give a small smile.

"So, when did you start the saving spree?" Clint says with a smirk.

"Well, the first one was with you guys and the whole Tiger thing." I say. "Then when I was running with you." I look at Steve. "And there were a few others over the days…" I gulp. "I was kinda sneaking out during the night." I admit. Steve sighed.

"So that's why you were falling asleep during our run." He says. I smile with a shrug.

"Yeah…" I scratch the back of my head. We were all quiet for a minute.

"So… demonstration?" Clint grins. I smile.

"Sure." I shrug. "That's ok right?" I turn to Pepper.

"Yeah, kid. Its fine, now amuse us." Tony buts in. I smile and get up, then go behind the counter and kneel down.

…

Everyone leans up; trying to see. A German shepherd suddenly walks out from behind the counter.

"Whoa." Clint says. The dog walks up and sits by the table. "Can it understand us?" Clint says to everyone. The dog barks. Clint turns back and pets its head.

"You know that's _Kate _your petting right?" Natasha says with an eyebrow raised. Clint shrugs.

"It's technically a dog, Nat." He states. She sighs and pets the dogs head.

The dog looks to table and walks over and crawls under the table; lying down. Everyone looks under the table with a smirk.

"So… anyone want this last burger?" Pepper says after everyone looks back up. Clint goes out to grab it when a dog head pops up and grabs it off the plate.

"Hey!" Clint says. He gets up and chases the German shepherd around the table in circles.

"Give it up Clint." Steve says with a smirk.

"No way! That's my burger." He says in a childish tone. The dog runs behind the counter and takes it in one bite; swallowing it then licks its lips.

Clint sits back down with a frown. Suddenly, the German shepherd comes back; this time taking Steve's burger off his plate. He tries to grab it but the dog runs back behind the counter. Clint does a fist pump.

"Ha! Don't like you food being taken don't you!" He says. The dog disappears behind the counter.

…

I stand up. Then walk back over to the table.

"What's with the burger theft?" Clint says. I shrug.

"I was hungry." I say, taking a bite of my burger. Steve and Clint exchange a glance.

"Does your ability have a limit?" Natasha asked. I shrug.

"Well, actually. I don't know the limit. I can also do extinct animal too now. Soon enough, I might be able to do fictional animals." I say.

"Interesting, so you set your own limits." Bruce says more to himself.

"Precisely."

"Wow." Pepper says. I smile.

"Yeah, I guess it has that effect on people."

"Kate, we have to tell Fury." Natasha says. I hesitate before nodding.

"I know." I say.

"Don't worry; we won't let him take you to the sand box." Clint says. I grin.

"Well that's a relief." I say with a laugh. We sit and talk for the rest of dinner. After that I went to my room and logged my day. I called up Sam too; telling her that I told them. She was happy for me, and reminded me to make the best of the time. I forgot about that. I would probably be leaving soon.

I crawled into bed after getting dressed and pulled the covers up to my chest. I smile and close my eyes.

~0~

Coulson walks up to Fury. They had found out Kate's ability. Fury turns when he walks up.

"Tell me you have good news." He says. Coulson nods.

"We have her ability. She can shift into animals… Any animal to be precise, including extinct ones." Coulson tells him. Fury shows no emotion.

"Based on your report you don't think she's a threat, is that correct?' Fury asked.

"Sir, I do not." Fury is quiet for a moment.

"Get her in a foster home. The sooner she's gone the better." Coulson gives a nod and leaves.

~0~

The next morning I woke up extra early. 30 minutes earlier than normal. I get out of bed and grab my shorts, shoes, and shirt before running to the bathroom. I come out a few minutes later; dressed. I run for the elevator.

I walk out of the elevator and see Steve sitting in on of the chairs in the lobby. He looks up and sees me. He smiles; standing up.

"Ready to go?" He asked. I nod. We walk toward the door and toward the park.

A few minutes later we walk into the entrance of the park. We start to jog and go a few meters when I turn to him.

"I'll race you to the lake." I say. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, real funny Kate." He says.

"I'm serious!' I laugh. He looks ahead, then back at me.

"I'll give you a head start." I smirk and pick up a sprint. I hear him gaining. He passes me and I grin, running down a path through the trees.

…

Steve kept running when a furry mass runs up beside him. He looks down and sees a German shepherd running beside him. He raised an eyebrow. The dog speeds up and passes the lake right before he does. He slows down, breathing a little bit harder; watching the dog run into the bushes.

…

I walk out of the bushes toward him, with a smirk. He looks at me.

"Cheater." He says, rapping an arm around my shoulders as we start walking back. I laugh.

"No one said there were rules, but… I would have beat you anyway." I make a face. He shoves me playfully. We walk back onto the path and stop at the fountain. I push one of the buttons and drink the water. I drink a bit more and don't see him push the other button; making the water go right in my face. I gasp; my head shoots up and I make a face. He starts laughing. I smack his arm.

"Not funny!" I say, wiping water off my now drenched face.

"No, it was funny." He says. I roll my eyes and pick up a jog. He jogs up next to me, still chuckling to himself.

~0~

We walk out of the elevator, laughing when I see Agent Coulson. He turns with a small and brief smile.

"Ms. Sanders." He greets. I smile.

"Kate." I tell him. He gives a nod.

"I need to speak to you." He says. Steve gives a nod; putting a hand on my shoulder before walking over to Clint and Natasha. I follow Coulson into the elevator.

…

We walk out of the elevator and out into the lobby. We walk out and get into a SHIELD SUV outside the Tower. I close the door and turn to him.

"Ok, Kate. I didn't want to go out and say this in front of everyone just yet. And I don't know how else to do this but to just go out and say it. Y-"

"I need to go to a Foster Home?" I finish. He closes his mouth. "I knew it would happen eventually." I say; forcing a small smile. _I need to stay strong about this. _I thought.

"I found a very high rating Home. Best there is in the area." He says to me. I force another smile and nod.

"When?"

"Next week. I wanted to tell you as soon as possible." I nod.

"Do they know?" I ask. He shook his head.

"I'll tell them later tonight. Do you want to be there?" He asked. I shake my head.

"Just tell them after I call in for the night." I say. He nods.

"I'll make sure of it." He says.

"'Is that all Agent Coulson?" I ask.

"Phil, and say Kate, that is all." He gives me a smile. I smile back and get out of the car; heading back into the Tower. As I walk in my smile fades and a tear runs down my face.

**Like it? Hate it? Please review and let me know! OH! - Almost forgot. I'm starting this new thing. So, throughout the story I will as a question in the author message at the end of some chapters. You answer in a review and your answer might be put into the story! I want you all to be more involved! :) So here's the first one:**

**What is your favorite type of Cake?**

**Chocolate**

**Vanilla**

**Red Velvet**

**Coconut**

**Other (Type in if it's not listed) **

**There's the first question. Depending on how many answer, I'll use the one with the most picked. Hope you liked it! Check in for the next chapter too!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Here's the next chapter everyone! Thank you for the reviews, and I'll see what I can do about your requests. I get several private messages too from people about requests for the story… I'll try my best to make you all happy :) **

I warily open my eyes the next morning. I look out my window. It was cloudy today. I groan and roll out of bed; taking my clothes to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, I walk out of the elevator and up to Steve. He smiles; I give a very small smile and we walk out the door. He stares ahead; then starts to glance at me.

"Something wrong?" He asked. I shake my head.

"I'm just tired." I say. He nods.

"Were you out saving someone again?" He smirks. I shake my head.

"No, actually. I just feel more tired than normal." I say; then yawn. He hesitates, and then nods. We walk through the park entrance and pick up a jog. I stare at the ground for a while. I don't see him looking at me.

"You know you can tell my anything right?" He says. I look up and force a smile.

"Yeah, I know." I say. He gives me a concerned look before giving a nod.

"Ok, then." He says; looking ahead. We jog in silence for a few minutes; jogging around some trees. "I was thinking we could go an extra lap starting next week." He says. I smirk.

"Did you forget already?" I say. He raised an eyebrow. "Remember? I'll be gone by next week." I say. He comes to a dead stop; I slow down; turning.

"What?" He asked. I raise an eyebrow.

"…Didn't Coulson tell you?" I ask. He shook his head.

"He didn't say anything last night." I let out a breath. I hesitate before saying anything.

"I'm going to the Foster Home starting next week. He said he was gonna tell you." I say. From there I couldn't tell his expression; in fact I don't even know if he was taking that in yet. I raise an eyebrow. "Uh, you ok?" I wave my hand in front of his face. He blinks and nods.

"Yeah, yeah… I just…." He trails off. I glance around.

"Wanna keep going?" I ask. He nods. We pick back up our jog. They rest of the way was silent.

~0~

I was in my room now. After we got back Steve kinda told everyone and Natasha and Clint had at Coulson for not telling them first. I could literally hear them through the vents. I didn't think they would take it that hard, I mean…. They must have tons of messed up people coming here… right?

I continue to sketch out my horse drawing while I listen to bits and pieces of the conversation. _I wonder who I will meet there. I hope I make some friends. _I_ t_hought. I look at my phone. It was only 10am. I sigh; looking out my window.

…

"Why didn't you tell us before you told her?!" Pepper yells. Coulson was quiet through all the yelling's her got from everyone.

"Did we really have to wait til she told one of us you were getting rid of her?" Clint says.

"Fury knew you would react this way so he wanted to keep it quiet." Coulson explains. They all exchange glances.

"So you weren't going to tell us, **again?!"** Natasha says. Coulson doesn't respond.

"Is she in her room?" Coulson asks.

"Yeah." Steve says. He nods.

"I'll come pick her up Monday." He says; standing up. They don't respond as he heads for the elevator.

…

I walk out of the elevator and into the gym. I walk over to the punching bags; putting my water on the bench I walk over to the bag in the corner. I start throwing a few punches.

"Nice technique." My fist hits the bag and I stop. I turn; looking at Steve; who I didn't hear come in.

"Thanks… my brother showed me." I say; I clench my jaw; looking back at the bag, thinking about him.

"So he taught you to fight?"

"Yeah, when he was home anyway." I say. He gives me a questioning look.

"He was in the Army." I tell him. He nods; I see his expression brighten a bit with the mention of Army.

"What's his name?" I blink back tears, taking in a shaky breath.

"James." I say. Steve nodded, and then sees the expression on my face. I could see it in his eyes; he could tell by my face that he was gone.

"Is there any chance he's-"

"No." I say. He swallows.

"Sorry."

"Its fine, its just-… he's been d-"I take in a shaky breath. "He's been dead for a few years now. He was killed in action overseas." I say. I look away for a minute; blinking away tears. "He had promised me he would take me to where he was based for my birthday a few years ago. I wanted to see it so bad." I couldn't look at him as I talked. I could barely hold it together. "He…" I cough out a sob. "He would have kept his promise." I start coughing out sobs and he walks over. I honestly didn't freakin care anymore. I wrap my arms around his waist and start bawling tears into his shoulder. He just hugs me back.

I had lost everything. My mom, my dad, my brother…. I had no one. No one left. And I was about to leave the only people left that I cared about. I honestly don't know how long I've been standing here. He eventually said something to me that involved heading for the elevator. We made it there and just kinda went down to the lobby and out the door. For a while we just walked. He had an arm around my shoulder the whole time and we just kinda talked about the better parts of it. The good memories I had of him.

At some point he asked me if I was hungry… I told him I wanted ice cream. Not that I was in the mood but surprisingly it made me feel better. We sat in that little ice cream shop for hours. He let me talk about whatever I was comfortable with.

I told him about when my brother first enlisted and how when he got accepted that my parents found it in the mail and were furious when he got home from school. (He was a senior at the time and I was in 6th grade) I also told him about how he would "train" me. He taught me how to throw a punch when I was 11. As I got older and he grew in the ranks he taught me a lot more. Battle tactics, modern warfare stuff, types of ammunitions used… Pretty much everything he leaned that wasn't classified… ok-, well… maybe he slipped a little on the classification.

I had always told my brother that I wanted to be just like him someday. He never doubted that I would be.

Around 5pm we had started heading back to the Tower. I was a quiet dinner. Natasha and Clint had a mission they left for that afternoon. Bruce and Tony had taken their food to the lab to eat. It was just Steve, Pepper, and I.

After I had eaten I called in early. I could tell by Pepper's face that she was worried. Thankfully after I went into the elevator I heard Steve start to explain.

Once I fell onto my bed comforter I didn't realize how tired I was. I wanted to cry more; just put all the pain I suffered in the last year into tears. But I couldn't. There weren't any tears left. I did eventually drift off; not bothering to get myself dressed or under the covers. I curled up; making myself as small as possible and closed my eyes.

~0~

**The next week….**

I carried my duffle bag out to the curb. Today was the day. I was leaving the Tower to get on with my life… or whatever life I had left. Sam was going with me to get dropped off. Coulson was waiting by the car.

I turn to everyone. Pepper was red in the face and her eyes rimmed with some barely visible tears. I smirk. She pulls me into a tight hug.

"Thank you for everything Kate." I smile; pulling out of the hug.

"I should be thanking you Pepper. After all, I wouldn't be here if you said something." I say. She nods, with a smile. Tony shakes my hand.

"Good luck kid." I smirk; giving a nod. He walks back over to Pepper. _Tough love. _I say in my head with a smirk. Bruce shakes my hand.

"Good luck Kate. It was a pleasure getting to know you." Bruce says. I smile.

"Same goes to you." I say. He gives a nod. I walk over to Clint and Natasha. Clint grins and pulls me into a hug.

"Promise to get into trouble for me there ok?" I give him a smile.

"You bet!" I fist bump him. I turn; hugging Natasha.

"Don't forget to make some friends too." She says to me. I smile.

"Don't worry I won't." She smiles and I walk over to Steve who was standing on her left. I smile and he pulls me into a hug.

"You be careful." He says in a playfully tone. I roll my eyes.

"I'm not that reckless." I say with a smirk.

"Good luck." I give a nod, then turn; walking toward the car. Coulson gives me a nod.

I get in and Sam gets in the other side. Closing my door; I put my window down; waving the them as we drive away.

~0~

We pull up in front of the foster home. I gulp. Sam looks at me and smiles.

"Don't worry. I'll come see you as often as I can." She says, putting an arm on my shoulder. I nod and get out. It looked like a prison. There was a fence and a tall building.

"It was the most highly rated home, Kate. So don't worry." Coulson says, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. I smirk. We walk toward the building. A woman with red hair came up to us.

"Welcome! I'm Ms. Williams. You must be Phil." She shakes his hand. She turns to me and smiled. "And you must be Kate!" She says cheerfully. I give a very small smile. This lady scares me. She's creepy… like a serial killer! I shake my head and furrow my eyebrows at my own thoughts. I look at Coulson, he gives a nod. I get my things and close the trunk. He gives me one last nod before getting in the car. I watch him drive away. Sam walked me in before leaving.

...

I walk into a room. Ms. Williams follows. I see three other girls there. A girl with dirty blonde hair looked up and smiled. There was a girl with black hair; with a red streak and a girl with auburn hair.

I look around the room. There were four beds counting one for me. The girl with dirty blonde hair had a girly set up. She had posters and make up stuff on a little night stand next to the bed. Pink was the main color.

The girl with black hair had a gothic looking set up. Dark, mysterious posters were on the walls and black sheets on the bed.

The girl with auburn hair had a nice little set up. There were skateboarding posters on the wall and one picture on a nightstand of two people; portably a couple. I look around the room. It wasn't half bad. There was a window by each bed and the spare bed had a window seat.

_I hope that's my bed._ I thought. Ms. Williams walks in front of me.

"Come here girls. We have a new member!" She says cheerfully. I roll my eyes. The auburn girl gets up first and comes over, the other two follow.

"This is Kate everyone." She introduces me.I give a small smile and a wave. They wave back to me.

"Well, go on! Introduce yourselves!" MS Williams laughed.

"My name is Scarlett." The auburn girl says. I smile, she holds out her hand and I shake it. The dirty blonde girl walks up.

"Hi, my name is Ashley." She says with a smile; I shake her hand. The girl with black hair walks up.

"Sup, I'm Jade." She says, I fist bump her. She smirks and sits on her bed. Ms. Williams looks at all of us and nods.

"Aright..." She turns to me. "The girls will tell you what you need to know, and you have a drawl to put your clothes in." She smiles; then leaves the room. I turn back to the girls. Scarlett smiles and points to the spare bed.

"Well, here's your bed." She walks over and I follow. "We get new stuff in every other week so over time you can decorate you space how you like." She says. I nod. I swallow.

"How's it food wise?" I ask. She shrugs.

"It's alright,... For a foster home anyway." Jade says, mumbling the last part. I smirk.

"So, Kate. What are some of your hobbies?" Ashley asked. I shrug.

"I can fight...uh; I can do a little bit of archery. I shoot, sketch, I skateboard..." I count them on my fingers. Scarlett raises an eyebrow.

"You skateboard?" She asked. I nod.

"I haven't in a while, but I do too." She smiles at me.

"Sweet, so do I!" She fist bumps me and I chuckle.

"So what's your story." Jade asked. I sat on my bed. I hesitate.

"I was kidnapped and held hostage for 8 months. My parents were killed shortly after I was found." I say. They look at me.

"Wow, haven't heard that one before." Ashley says. I shrug.

"Yeah, and it gets better. The government found me and I was living in a billionaire's tower for like two months." I say. Their mouths drop.

"Are you fudging serious?" Scarlett said. I nod.

"And don't even mention little orphan Annie. I am not like that at ALL." I make clear. We all laughed.

"That's crazy dude!" Jade says. I nod in agreement.

"That must have been nice." Ashley says. I hesitate before shrugging.

"It wasn't ordinary, I'll give it that." We sit in silence for a minute. Scarlett claps her hands together.

"Well, why don't you unpack?" I nod and put my duffle bag on the bed. The girls went back to doing what they were doing.

I start looking through my bag. I take out all my outfits as put them on the bed; folded nicely. I take out a few other things, including my skate board at the bottom of the bag, and my sketch book. Something catches my eye. I furrow my eyebrows and look in my bag. There was some kind of book. I pick it up and look at it. It had a black leather cover; no wording. I open it and a note falls out. I pick it up and read it.

_Dear Kate,_

_You have no idea how thankful I am for everything you have done for us. I know you will do get things some day and you will go far. Best wishes. _

_Pepper_

I smile and put the note on the bed. I open to the next page and a small gasp escapes my mouth.

It was a photo album. I look at all the pictures. It surprised me how she managed to get some of these. There was two pages of pics of me and Natasha, some of us talking, and some of me sparring with Natasha, I look at all the pictures. I was on the ground in most of them. I smile and go to the next page.

The next two pages had pictures of me and Clint. There was a few of him teaching me bow tips, and a few of us sparring. The second page was made up of me and Clint playing pranks. I grin and look at them. There was one of Steve covered in feathers and me and Clint falling off the couch laughing. And another of the lab after we covered it in toilet paper, the time when Tony almost killed us.

I chuckled at the memories. I turn the page and see the ones of me and Steve. There were some of us jogging. I furrowed my eyebrows at those. The only other person that jogged with us once was...Sam! I laugh to myself. _That Traitor._ I thought. There were a few of us using the punching bags and also some of us just sitting on the couch, talking. Then there was two of us smiling at the camera, then another, when I threw a pie at his face, then another when he threw a pie at my face. Next thing we knew the kitchen was covered in pie. Sam was trying to protect her phone during the whole thing. I guess she took more than that one picture.

That was fun to explain to Pepper when she got home. He face was priceless. I smile at the memories.

The next two pages contained pics of me in the lab with Tony and Bruce. There was one where I was sitting on the counter and Tony was testing a suit and it malfunctioned, he was flying around the lab; trying to get it under control. I was laughing in the picture.

There was also one where I had been messing with Bruce's stuff and set off a little explosion. Bruce was in the back ground looking shocked and I was smiling; ash and substance covered my face and clothes. I chuckled at the memories.

The last few pictures included lots of pics of everyone. They're ones of me and Pepper, some of me and Sam and me with the others.

I turn the page to the last picture and see a picture of all of us together. I remember when we took that picture. I smile and close it up. Putting it in the drawl of my nightstand, I put all of my clothes into my drawl and walk over to the window seat. I sit down.

"Nice view right?" Scarlett says. I nod; my mouth open. It was so cool. I look at all the buildings. I smile comes on my face when I see Stark Tower. I see my phone beep and turn it over.

_Pepper: We miss you already. :(_

I chuckle, typing a reply.

_Miss you guys too. _

I turn off my phone. I look back out my window. I watch as the clouds start to cover the sun. The light slowly climbed the side of the tower til the light was gone. I adjust myself on the cushion; my gaze lost on the place I use to call home.

**There's the chapter everyone. A lot happened and I know it was a bit long. Please review and let me know if you liked it.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Here's your chapter everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews! You have no idea how happy they make me! **

_Beep beep beep beep_

"Jarvis, turn it off." I groan. I open my eyes to slits, and then close them.

_Beep beep beep beep_

"Jarvis!" I groan. I open my eyes all the way. I could see Stark Tower. I sit up, a bit concerned. I sigh. The thoughts started coming back to me. I was in the foster home. I let out a breath and look around; seeing Ashley, Scarlett, ad Jade still fast asleep.

I had fallen asleep in the window seat. My knees were tucked under me and I had a patched up blanket over me; my open sketch in my lap. I get up; putting the sketch book down and stretch. Turning off my alarm clock I yawn and stretch again. I quietly open my drawl and pull out my shorts and tank top before tiptoeing to the bathroom.

...

A few minutes later I get my sneakers from my bed side and walk toward the door. I walk down the stairs and toward the door.

_Maybe I would see Steve today on my run. I thought. If I couldn't see them all the time maybe they could run in mornings so I could see them._ I thought, my hopes brightening. I pass the office and see a woman with white hair sitting there.

"Oh- uh, Miss?" She calls. I stop and turn. "You cannot leave yet. It's 5am." She says. I gulp.

"We'll, I was just going to run." I explain.

"I'm sorry; you must wait til 10am for our exercise program and be assigned to a group." She says; then goes back to her work. I let out a disappointed breath; walking back toward the room.

...

I walk back up; talking off my sneakers and sitting back in the window seat. _So much for that._ I thought. _Who was I kidding in the first place? I couldn't expect them to drop everything to come see me. Some girl they found in a ware house with some stupid ability. They have way more important matters to attend to._ I thought.

I look down at my turned over sketch book that was open. _Did I draw something last night?_ I thought. I pick it up and slowly turn it over. I had drawn everyone. Clint, Natasha, Pepper, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Sam and even Thor, Jane, and Darcy. I realize it was a finished picture, my initials at the bottom.

I smile; closing the book and sliding it under the window seat cushion I was sitting on. I look out the window; seeing Stark Tower in the distance, thinking of what they were probably doing right now.

Clint and Natasha were probably sparring or on missions. Steve was on his run right about now, Tony and Bruce would be in the lab, and Pepper would be at work.

I hear movement behind me and turn. Scarlett shifts in her bed, making a face as the sunlight hits her eyelids. I give a small smile; watching her turn over, facing the other way.

~0~

A few hours later, I hear someone yawn. I look over; seeing Ashley swinging her feet off the bed; stretching. She glances at me.

"Good morning." She yawns. I smile.

"Morning." She stretches again, and then stands up.

"How long have you been up?" She asked; rubbing her eyes. I shrug.

"Few hours." I say. She nods; glancing at her alarm clock and raised an eyebrow.

"It's 8:30." She says. I nod. "How many hours?" She asked. I chuckle and shrug.

"I don't know, maybe 3 or so." I say; looking back out my window.

"Geash, early morning person." She mumbles. I smirk, eyeing the cars going by in front if the foster home.

~0~

After everyone woke up, we all headed to the eating area. I just followed everyone down and sat with them. They're at least 50 other people here. I had grabbed a tray in the tray line. It had a bowl of cereal, Cheerios to be exact. I smile. I love Cheerios. They had always been my favorite. I poured the carton of milk into the Styrofoam bowl and mixed it with my spoon.

"So, Kate." Jade starts. I look up; taking a bite if cereal.

"Who were you living with before?" I stop chewing, and swallow. I glance at her before looking down.

"I don't know." I say. She looked at my before chuckling.

"What do you mean? How could you not know?" She says in a tone that was setting me off a bit.

"I told you, it was the government. They wouldn't tell me anything." I say, mixing my cereal. Scarlett nudges Jade, seeing I wasn't comfortable with this topic.

"Well, there's a batch of new stuff coming in today, why don't me and you go have a look around?" She says. I just nod, my thoughts lost in my head.

~0~

After breakfast, Jade and Ashely went back to our room and Scarlett insisted I go with her to this thing.

"It's in this room." She says, pushing one of the double doors. We walk in and I saw what looked like a mini store.

_"This is it?"_ I thought, and then realized I said it aloud.

"Yep, you can take anything here if you have enough points." She says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Points?"

"Yeah, you earn points for stuff you do around here. Helping out with all sorts of stuff. I'll show you some but for now you can use my points. I got enough to share." She says; shouldering me. I smile as we start looking around.

She goes over to the clothes while I look in some of the bins in the corner of the room. I shift through one bin; seeing toys of all sorts, posters, picture frames, coloring books, etc.

I pick up a few things, moving them around and see a rolled up poster. I raise an eyebrow and pick it up. Unraveling it; I smirk when I see it is an Avengers poster. I hear footsteps behind me and keep my eyes on the poster.

"You a fan?" Scarlett said after a few seconds. I breathe a laugh.

"Something like that." Scarlett smiles, and then holds out a shirt. She holds it up to her. "What do ya think?" She asked. I put a hand to my chin; narrowing my eyes.

It was a white shirt that said 'Gaming Goddess. You may bow before me'

I smirk. "Yeah, I think it's defiantly you." I say. She smiles; putting it over her arm.

"Hey, you should get this." She says holding a shirt up to me. I glance down at it.

"No, I really don't need anything-"

"You have to get something on your first day!-, just, find something, anything!" She says with a smile. I sigh and nod, continuing to look through the boxes of stuff.

...

A while later I found a small framed picture. It was a picture of soldiers overseas and it said: "if you can't support out troops, feel free to stand in front of them."

My brother had the same picture but in poster form in his room. It was his favorite quote. Scarlett had gotten a few tops and found an old Nintendo DS with a Mario cart game. We were now heading back to our room.

We walk in the door; I close it behind us as Jade and Ashley look up from what they were doing. Jade was tuning her electric guitar that she had gotten and Ashley was painting her nails; sitting on her bed.

"What'd ya get?" Ashley got up; waving her hands to dry out her nails. I shrugged, Scarlett held up her shirts and DS. "That's Cool." She says. She looks at me. "How bout you?" I shrug.

"Just a picture." I say. She nods after a few seconds. I walk over; putting it on my nightstand.

"So Emily came by today again with her friends." Jade says.

"Uh, god. What'd she do and or say this time?" Scarlett sits on her bed.

"Nothing much, but I could hear her. She wrote losers on our door when you were gone. I cleaned it up." Ashley says. I raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" I ask. They look at me.

"Oh! That's right you have no idea what we're talking about." Scarlett walks over a sits on my bed with me. "Ok, so Emily Johnson is like Jade on steroids." She starts. I lean back with a questioning look.

"Hey!" Jade says. Scarlett looks at her.

"I'm just saying she has the whole Goth look but takes it to the next level." She says. Jade sends her a glare; then draws her attention back to her guitar. I nod.

"So why did they vandalize our door?" I ask. She shrugs.

"Don't know. They're messed up." She mumbles the last part. I chuckle.

~0~

The day was pretty boring. Scarlett said there was a field trip tomorrow though. The schooling program here was weird. If you were 15-17 then you didn't necessarily have to take park in the education program but you could go on their field trips around the city to learn stuff.

After getting into my tank top and sweat pants I crawled into my bed. So this is what life's gonna be like. Every. Day. I roll over in bed and star at the picture I got. I wish I could have lived at the tower. But I know I would be a burden on them. Plus there superheroes and can't stick around the look after me. Pepper's busy enough without a kid in the house.

_At least I got to know them._ I thought. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

**There's you chapter everyone! I know it was kinda boring, but the next one will have some action. Please review and I have another question for you…**

**Which Avenger do you think is more responsible?**

**Please tell me who you think in the reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! And also thank you for telling me what you think for the question! I will make sure to keep them in mind as I write. What I'm gonna try to do now is include her thoughts thorough out so there not in italics. Enjoy!**

**A month later…**

Sometime has gone by. I'm not keeping track at all really. It had been getting easier at the Home. I mean, I have a part time job in the Home. Leave it to me to pick out the most boring job here. Ugh. Hey, the paper said security! I didn't think it meant watching the little kids go up and down stairs! What kinda heartless person would trick people into this!?... Ok, I know I'm zoning out right now.

"Here is the shoe room. It holds hundreds of pairs of shoes of the Jewish men, women, and children during the holocaust." I hear the tour lady say. Yeah so this is the third field trip I've been on. Turns out; the field trip was to DC. That was a boring 7 hour drive.

She continues to talk about the clothing and stuff during the holocaust. I'm not really listening. I kinda know all of this by heart anyway. Growing up with someone in the Military made this stuff second nature to me. WWII was my brother's favorite war, and then he kinda passed that on to me. Every school project I did was about WWII. My teachers would get so frustrated with me, especially my English teacher. She hated talking about war and stuff; she was kinda like a hippie. She wore lots of peace signs and stuff. In my opinion she was just plain weird.

We continue to walk through. I look around me; this was a really cool museum. I had been here once when I was little, I don't remember much from that trip though. I look past a few people; and then see a plaque on the wall slightly behind me; probably for soldiers killed in action. I loved looking at those. My brother and I would always look for them as try to see if we could find any of our relatives. Our family had tons of soldiers dating back to like the 1800's. But most of them fought in WWII. I slowly start to back up casually. Of course I'm stupid enough that I ran right into someone, seeing a book go flying across the floor.

"Crap, sir I'm so sorry." I say; we both go down to pick up the book.

"Don't worry. Its fine-" I froze. That voice was so familiar it's scary. I look up and see Steve. My mouth drops. His eyebrows shoot up. Oh. My. God.

"Wha-" I don't even know what to say right now. Why was he here? - wait, scratch that, why am I being stupid and not saying anything.

"Kate?" He says in disbelief. I close my mouth and swallow.

"S-Steve?!" I almost shout. We stand up straight and I hand him the book. "Uh-, he-, ugh...hi!" I'm stuttering like an idiot right now. He smiles.

"Hey, uh. How've been?" I shrug, holding back the urge to jump at him for a hug. God, I just realized how much I missed them all. It's been over a month and I almost forgot about the missing them part.

"Fine. The home's not as bad as I thought it'd be. What about you?"

"It's good.-"

"Kate, were heading out!" Our chaperon lady calls. Oh great. I sigh. I hold up a hand to her; telling her to give me a minute.

I don't want leave now. Ugh. Ooh! - wait! Idea! Ding ding ding!

"Hey, what you doing later?" I ask. He draws his attention back to me.

"Uh, nothing why?" He says with a bit of concern.

"Maybe we could get a run in tonight. I'm so desperate for a run it's not even funny." I tell him. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're talking about sneaking out?" He says; I hear a bit more concern in his voice. I shrug with a smirk.

"Yeah, we could catch up; you could tell me what's been happenin at the tower." I hope I convince him. He narrows his eyes for a moment. "Pleeeaasss...?" I say with a smile. He hesitates.

"Ok.-"

"Yes!" I whisper. He smirks.

"But if you get caught I can't do anything about it." He says. I nod. Thank the Lord! I run up; giving him a quick hug; then jogging to catch up with my group. I give him a small wave. He waves back as I walk up behind Scarlett, Jade, and Ashely. Scarlett turns; seeing me and jumps.

"Jesus Christ! Kate!-" she slaps my arm. Priceless. I start laughing.

"Come on, you could have heard me coming." I argue.

"Where did you go?!" She says, looking around. I shrug.

"Over to a different exhibit." I say. She narrows her eyes, and then nods.

"Oookkk." She says drawing the word out. Oh please, you wouldn't know who I was talking about if I told you.-… ok, maybe you would, but that depends on your knowledge of the topic.

We walk past a few other exhibits, heading to the air and space.

~0~

**Later that night…**

I open my eyes to slits. Ok, there all asleep. I slowly pull my covers back; swinging my feet over the bed. I feel the cold wood floor under my feet as I touch down.

_Creeeeaaakkk…_

Shoot! Stupid floor! I sigh, taking small quick steps to my drawer. I grab a pair of socks, sitting back down on my bed to put them on. If he forgot, I swear I will walk to the Tower tonight. I pull on my shoes and tiptoe to my window. There was a fire escape. I kneel down onto the cushion and unlock it. I take a deep breath. This better not be loud.

I pull on it slightly. Nothing. I pull a bit harder and it flies open and hits the top.

_Bang!_

"Shit!" I quickly crawl out and jump onto the fire escape; slamming the window down. I press my back the wall; leaning down so no one could see me.

"Wha-!?" I hear someone say. I put a hand up to my face. Crap. I kneel down as far as I can. I hear footsteps coming toward the window. I look up; seeing Ashley. She yawns; looking out the window. I gulp. I see her shrug and disappear from view. I let out a breath.

Thank. God.

I look around the ground. No one. I begin to crawl down the fire escape toward the ground.

~0~

It was dark and cold. I knew he would forget! God damit. I continue to walk around the park; my hands in the pockets of my jacket. I was wearing my boot cut jeans with sneakers and a T-shirt. If I get mugged Steve I'm so blaming you. I keep walking along the path.

Suddenly I hear rapped footsteps coming up behind me. My breath gets caught in my throat. Well shit, I'm gonna get mugged. Then Steve runs up beside me. Oh. I let out a breath.

"What the hell!" I say; slapping his arm. "I seriously thought I was about to get mugged or something!" I say. He laughs.

"Well sorry, I had to help Clint with something so I was a bit late." He argues. I roll my eyes.

"Oh please, if you were helping him with something it couldn't have been good." He chuckles. I put my hands back in my pockets. We walk in silence for a few seconds. "So, jog?" He nods. I take my hands back out of my pockets and we pick up a jog. "How are things at the Tower?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Ok, it's quieter." He says. I nod. You think that'd be a good thing but by the look on his face right now I don't think so.

"How is everyone?" He shrugs.

"There good. Natasha and Clint got back from a mission recently and Pepper actually just left for a business trip." I nod. "So how have you been?" I shrug. Please don't ask that, my life is pretty boring.

"Good, I've made some friends. And I have a part time jog there." He raised an eyebrow.

"A job? You?... have a _job_?" He says in disbelief. I scoff; shoving him. Not that he went far. Ok, it was like I tried to shove a brick wall…

"Thanks for the positive feedback!" He smirks. We continue along the path through the park.

~0~

We walk up to the Home. I asked if he'd walk back with me. I don't wanna get mugged ok!? I turn back to him.

"Thanks for coming out here and everything." I give him a hug.

"No problem. I had fun." He says. I smile; pulling out of the hug. I walk back toward the fire escape; I wave to him. He waves, and then starts walking back. That was really fun. Maybe I could do it more often! I get to the window. I open it slowly and step inside. I turn and close it.

Suddenly the light turns on. I freeze. Shit. I turn around slowly; seeing Jade, Ashley, Scarlett… and Miss Williams- with a security guard! I'm dead. I am so very, very dead.

"Kate." She Miss Williams starts. I gulp. "You have some explaining to do."

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :D :D**

**I actually had something along the lines of you request **_**ItsAKiliThing. **_**But sense you requested it I changed it a bit to fit the description. :) I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review! I love to know what you all think!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Ok, here's your chapter everyone! Please review and tell me what ya think!**

Ms. Williams waits for me to respond. Well, this is it. I am so dead it's not even funny. I glance at the security guard standing behind her.

"Well?" She says. I gulp.

"I-I was out seeing a friend." Please don't ask for details. I don't feel like explaining the truth of all this. Ms. Williams nods; a slightly pissed off look on her face.

"Why would you do that Kate?" She says. "You know the rules around here by now, I thought you under stood that!" She says. I look at the ground. I really messed up. She looks at me for a moment. "We thought someone broke in." She says. I look up. I didn't think of it like that.

"I didn't think it would affect anyone." I say quietly.

"Well if we hadn't looked at the camera's you might have been shot on the spot." She says. Wait what!? They have cameras? I gulp. Well it looks like my visiting chances with them are over… or are they? They wouldn't expect a mouse or something to sneak out. I smirk to myself. Thankfully no one saw it. Ms. Williams turns to the security guard and speaks to him quietly. He gives a nod; glancing at me for a brief second, he leaves the room. She turns to me.

"I'm sorry." No I'm not. Please, I won't be sorry if I hated going to see them. She gives me a disappointed look; then shakes her head.

"This isn't going unpunished Kate." She says and walks out of the room.

I turn to my friends. Ashley just looks at me and then at the ground and walks toward bed. Scarlett gave me a small smile; also going back to bed. Jade walks by and fist bumps me. At least someone appreciates my risk taking skills! I smirk, walking over to my bed.

Someone turns out the light and I sit in the window seat. Screw going back to bed now.

~0~

**A few hours later…**

Natasha walks out of the elevator and onto the communal floor. She always got up early for her morning routine in the gym. She walks over to the coffee maker and sees someone out of the corner of her eye. She turns and sees Steve sleeping on the couch with a book in his lap. She raised an eyebrow; walking over.

She shakes his shoulder lightly and he opens his eyes; he shakes his head regaining himself and sits up.

"Shouldn't you be on your run?" She says in an amused tone. He puts his hands up to his face.

"Yeah." He says; his voice muffled slightly.

"Soooo, why aren't you?" She says. He sighs and stands up.

"Ok-"He starts. "I ran into Kate yesterday-… or- she ran into me." He says; furrowing his eyebrows and blinking a few times as he remembers what happened. Natasha's expression brightens.

"You did?!" She says looking freakishly happy. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Wait, what does that have to do with you running?" She says. He swallows and lets out a breath.

"Well, we went out for a jog last night." He says. Natasha raised her eyebrows.

"Wait, she- convinced you..? To let her break out of the Home…" She says playfully. He sighed.

"Yeah." He says in a slightly annoyed tone; walking over to the fridge. "She just wanted to know what's been going on." He pulls a water bottle out of the fridge.

"How's she doing?" He drinks a bit of the water. He hesitates.

"I don't know. She says she's fine but…" He stops.

"You think otherwise." Natasha finishes. He nods. "It's a lot quieter around here, I'll give it that." She says looking around.

"When's Pepper getting back?" He asked. Natasha shrugged.

"Don't know. I think later tonight."

~0~

I put a carrot into my mouth. No one has said a word to me sense last night. Come one, I mean I didn't break the law or anything…Wait, did I? - ok not the point. We were in the cafeteria right now eating lunch.

"Ok, someone please say something." I look at them. Jade was sitting next to me, and Ashley and Scarlett were sitting across from me. They look up at me. "It wasn't that bad! ... Was it?" I ask.

"I just wish you would have told us. Don't you trust us?" Ashley speaks up. Well duh I trust you-… just not with my ability and who I used to live with. Simple enough.

"Yeah I trust you; I just didn't think you'd want to know." I say with a shrug.

"Dude. You broke out of the home. Why wouldn't we want to know your plan?" Jade says.

"What were you doing anyway?" Scarlett says; sipping her drink.

"I was…" I swallow. "Seeing Sam." I say like I was defeated. She narrowed her eyes for a moment.

"Why didn't you just wait til today?" She says. I raise an eyebrow. "Remember? She's coming to see you today!" Scarlett says with a laugh. Holy shit I forgot! I'm such an idiot it's not even funny.

"Oh! Yeah, I know. I just wanted to visit her apartment." I say, nodding to myself. I actually need to convince myself of this. She smiles and nods.

"Ok then." She says; putting a french-fry in her mouth.

~0~

I stir my cocoa with a straw. I was waiting for Sam. It was about 6pm right now. Now when she gets here I'm gonna have to explain to her that I was at her apartment last night and not you know where.

I look up from my cocoa when someone walks up to me.

"Hey!" She says excitedly. I smile and stand up; she pulls me into a hug.

"It's so good to see you." I can't believe I haven't seen her in over two weeks. It feels like a life time now.

"It's good to see you too Kate." She says; putting a hand on my shoulder. I smile; nodding to the seats for us to sit down. She smiles; taking a seat across from me. "So how've you been? I haven't heard from you in so long." She says with a laugh. I sighed.

"Yeah, I lost my phone charger so I haven't been able to charge it. I've been seeing if anyone has found one or something, but nothings turning up so…" I trail off with a laugh. She makes a pouty face.

"Awe, sucks to be you." She says with a smirk. I put a hand to my chest in offense with a smile.

"Ah, Miss Powell." Ms. Williams says walking up. Sam gives a small smile. "Did you to have fun last night?" She says smugly? I assume that's where you went." She says; turning to me. Sam raised an eyebrow; glancing at me. I look at the floor quickly.

"Uh-… yeah. We did." Sam says. Ms. Williams narrows her eyes and finally nods. A wave of relief washes over me. Thank god. If she found out I'd be screwed. She walks away and Sam turns to me. "Ok, start talking. What'd ya do?" I swallow.

"Ok, I ran into Steve a couple days ago and then I convinced him to let me sneak out so we could catch up. You know; what's been going on at the tower sense I left. Apparently not much."

"You convinced _him_ to let you do that?" She says; raising an eyebrow.

"I know right?!" I laugh. Sam chuckles. It's silent for a few seconds.

"You miss them a lot don't you?" She asked quietly. After a few seconds I bit my lip and nodded. I really really REALLY miss them. I just don't want to admit that I'd give anything. Freakin _anything_ to be back at the tower.

"It was fun while it lasted." Let's try and keep things positive. She gives me a small smile.

"Yeah." She says trailing off. I take my eyes off her for a moment; sipping my cocoa. They started serving the warmer drinks early this year. Even thought it was only the second week of October.

"If you could live with them. Would you?"

"Hell yeah." What kinda stupid question is that? Ah, how knows, it is Sam I'm talking to.

"Like, seriously. If for some weird reason you could live there for the rest of your life. Would you?" She says in a serious tone. I raise an eyebrow.

"Yeeaaaahh." I say slowly. "Why are you asking me this?" She's so weird. I see her expression change as she snaps out of her serious mode. She grins.

"Don't know. I just like asking questions." She says like it was a stupid question. I roll my eyes.

~0~

**Meanwhile at the Tower…**

Everyone had sat down to eat. Thor, Jane, and Darcy came; they'll be staying at the tower for a few days. Pepper picked up her fork; putting some green beans into her mouth.

"Anyone gonna say anything?" Clint speaks up. No one had said a word at the table yet. Natasha shrugs.

"Steve saw Kate last night." She says casually. Everyone looks up. Steve stops; about to put a bite in his mouth.

"Wait- what? You saw Kate!?" Clint says. He nods.

"Yeah, we bumped into each other at the museum."

"How is she?" Pepper asked in a concerned but intrigued tone. Steve finished chewing the bite of food.

"She's good. I don't think she's having a particularly exciting time there, but she said she was ok." He says. Just then something changed in Pepper's expression.

"Ok, everyone. I've been debating on whether or not I should ask you about this." She starts. Everyone turns to her with an eyebrow raised. Pepper takes in a deep breath letting it out.

"So… what is it?" Darcy plaining speaks up. Pepper takes in a deep breath and lets it out.

"I think we should adopt Kate."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Sorry I took me some time to update this! Please review and tell me what you think. **

"What!?" Tony blurts out.

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?" Natasha asked.

"We'll I wanted to do a little researching about it all before making a big deal out of it; -" Pepper pulls a cream colored folder out from under the table. "And with the help of all Tony's lawyer's I think that we all could adopt her as a "family." "She says. Everyone exchanges glances. Pepper grins. "No one's denying that it will work." She says.

"On the crazy off chance, what if she doesn't want to come back?" Bruce speaks up.

"Oh, she wants to come back alright." Pepper says; looking through the folder.

"And how do you know that?" Tony asked.

"Sam told me." She says casually. "I asked her the next time she visited Kate -today actually- that she needs to ask her some random questions for me." Pepper says.

"You've really thought of everything haven't you?" Clint says with a smirk. Everyone is silent for a moment.

"Well I'm in." Clint says.

"Is this the right thing to do though?" Steve asked. Clint looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the life we live isn't for the faint of heart. We won't always be there for her." He says.

"That was a pretty cheesy line." Tony says. Steve sends a quickly glare in his direction.

"So, she can learn to defend herself." Clint says.

"No that's not what I'm saying. If we don't come back from a mission, or saving the world, whatever... How is that going to affect her?" He says.

"Look at it this way." Natasha speaks up. "Do you think she would rather spend her life with us? Or with some random family that may not make her happy." Natasha says with an eyebrow raised. He looks at her; then the table. Pepper looks to everyone.

"I think it is a fine idea. Brining Kate back to the Tower." Thor says. Pepper smiles.

"Thank you Thor." She says sweetly. He smiles; taking a bite of mashed potatoes. She looks to everyone. "Ok, all in favor for adopting Kate. Raise a hand."

Pepper raised hers; Clint's hand shot up. Natasha put her hand up and so did Darcy and Jane. Steve swallowed his bite of chicken; then raised his hand. Thor raised his and so did Bruce. Everyone looked at Tony. He rolls his eyes; raising his hand. Pepper smiles.

"Ok. It's decided. We'll adopt Kate." She says with a slightly squeal of happiness.

~0~

"What do you mean we can't all adopt her?! Pepper says. They were having a meeting with Ms. Williams. The lady that watches over a small portion of the home.

"If there are several people in the adoption process, then one person has to take a bit more responsibility over the child. This significant other would be known as their guardian." She says. Pepper rubs her head; glancing at Steve, Natasha, and Clint.

"So we would all be adopting her, but one of us would have more claim over her?" Clint says. Ms. Williams gives an annoyed look which she quickly hides.

"In theory." They all look at each other. "Would that be one of you?" She asked.

"Yeah." Natasha says. Ms. Williams nods.

"I would recommend a person she is closest to, or gets along with. I understand she was living with you for almost 2 months?" They nod.

"That'd probably be you." Clint says to Steve. He crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head.

"No. I'm not the right person for this."

"C'mon, she loves you." Clint says playfully. "Besides, you were the one who found her, AND you act like a parent to her anyway." Clint says. Steve gives him a look.

"You should." Pepper says. "I think this would be good for you." She says with a smile. He sighs.

"Of all people I have no idea how to take care of a teenager." He says.

"Just do it." Clint says; shouldering him. "It'll be easy, we got your back." Steve glances at the papers on the desk, and everyone else. He lets out a breath, and then hesitated.

"Ok."

~0~

"Here are you papers." Ms. Williams says; handing the adoption papers to Pepper. She takes them gratefully. "I can go have her pack-"

"Not just yet. We wanna surprise her." Pepper says. Ms. Williams nods. She just wanted these people out of here.

"What did you have in mind?"

~0~

**A day later…**

"Sam, I swear if you're taking me to a McDonalds I'm going to kill you." I say with a laugh. Sam was taking me somewhere for my birthday surprise. My parents had always given me a big surprise on my birthday. It could have been going to a place, or an object, anything really. But sense my parents… can't do it anymore Sam wanted to make sure it happened this year. My birthday was in the first month of November. It was the second to last week of October. This was the only time Sam had before she had to go away for school stuff.

"Don't worry, it's way better than McDonalds." I look in her direction, I think. She blind folded me. Typical. I feel the car stop and she helped me out. We walk at least 20 feet into a building and into an elevator. I feel the floor move; and I stumble. It's a pretty silent ride. Where the hell is she taking me? Ii put my hand up slowly to take off the blind fold. Sam slaps me lightly.

"Ow."

"Oh please." She mumbles. I feel the floor rise a bit and stop. I hear the door ding and open. I raise an eyebrow. I know that sound. I just can't put my finger on it. Suddenly, someone pulls the blind fold off my head and I squint and the light. I blink several times and gasp.

Oh. My. God. I'm back at the tower! I look around me; my mouth open. Everyone was standing in front of me, including Thor, Jane, and Darcy! Jesus. Christ. Oh my freaking god. Oh my freakin. god. I feel my eyes start to water a bit.

"Welcome back Kate." Pepper speaks up. She bites her lip with a smile. She had a tasty looking cake in her hands. I feel my lips twitch up into a smile. I could see Sam standing slightly behind me. I feel my eyes watering more now. Best. Gift. ever. I quicken my pace as I walk up to Pepper.

I pull her into a frantic hug; she side hugs me, still holding the cake. After everything I thought they were past me. I thought they would have moved on, but they actually stopped everything to let me visit!

"Like it?" Sam said from behind me. I turn nodding to her.

"You've really stepped up your game." I say. Everyone chuckles.

"My turn." Clint says; walking over. I smirk. He pulls me into a hug. I hug Natasha, Bruce, and Tony. I walk over to Steve. He smiles.

"Long time no see." I smile. He gives a small smile; pulling me into a hug. Once out of his view I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. Something's up. He doesn't seem right. He was tensed and had a weird look in his eyes; like he saw me differently... Whatever, I'm sure it's nothing. I pull out of the hug and go hug Thor- who almost crushed me-, Jane, and I fist bumped Darcy before hugging her.

"So what to you wanna do first?" Pepper spoke up. I swallow; looking around. Shoot, I don't know.

"Why not do lunch first." Steve says. I look to him and nod.

"Wait!" I yell; holding out my hands. "Do we have pudding?!" I demand. He smirks and nods. Yes! They thought of everything. I do a fist pump and run for the fridge.

~0~

I take a bite of my biscuit. We all had sat down to eat lunch a bit ago. I pick up my plate along with Pepper's, and Clint's who had finished; taking them to the sink. Thor, Jane, and Darcy had gone back to their rooms, and Tony and Bruce had gone back down to the lab.

"So what do you wanna do?" Clint says; leaning on his fist. I shrug; sitting back down.

"I honestly don't know. I didn't expect to be here today." I honestly expected to be at some restaurant right now or something. But this is waaayyy better.

"Well Nat and I have to pay Fury a visit." Clint says. I nod; taking that into account.

"Could we maybe go on a run?" I ask; turning to Steve. He nods; wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Yeah, go get dressed." He says. I nod; I was kinda wearing skinny jeans and a flannel shirt. I run for the elevator and to my room. Sam had somehow snuck some of my clothes out. Don't know how she got passed Ms. Williams, but whatever! I run into my room; grabbing the bag of clothes by the door, and run into the bathroom to get dressed.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Hope you liked chapter 14 everyone! I know you've been dying for them to adopt her, especially you **_**aliceindeepdarkwonderland.**_** ;) Anyway, here's you chapter. Something big happens! Mwahahaha! **

After I went for a run with Steve, we came back to the Tower. We had a good run… despite his weird behavior. I don't know what's gotten into him. Did he not want me to come back or something? I completely understand; all the pranks Clint and I played on him… He just seems so nervous around me, don't know why, I'm not exactly intimidating… I don't think.

I walk over to Pepper who was making something that smelled really good. I peek over her shoulder as she stirred something. She chuckled.

"It's pot-roasted if you were going to ask." I smile.

"Smells really good." I say. She smiles.

"Why thank you." The elevator door opens and Natasha walks in with Clint.

"Ok, time for the gym." Clint says; clapping his hands together. I smirk.

"Yes!" I whisper. I almost skip as I meet them at the elevator and we go down.

~0~

"Steady yourself. You want to get the power in your punch from your body, not your arm." Clint instructs. I was sparring with Natasha… or- trying to. I had sent a punch which she blocked easily. And I kinda ended up on the floor.

I nod; pushing myself to me feet. Natasha grins. I swear; she is evilly plotting my murder in her head or something. I get into a fighting stance and she makes the first move; going for a kick, to take my feet out from under me. I jump; then block her punch, rolling to the side as she does another kick toward my head. I turn to slow as she knocks me off my feet as soon as I got up. I stayed on the floor.

"I'm never going to get good at this." I groan.

"Sure you will. You just have to try a bit harder." Natasha says; pulling me up. I sigh. I am training with the world's best assassins. I guess I'll get better at some point. I wipe the sweat off my forehead.

"Wanna break?" Clint asked. Ii nod; now realizing that I was breathing heavy. I walk over to the punching bags. They raise an eyebrow and exchange a glance. "Uh… aren't you breaking?" I nod; throwing a few punches.

"This is kinda second nature to me thanks to my brother." I wish he was here. They nod.

"Did you have a good run?" Natasha asked. I throw one more punch; turning to them for a moment as I blow my hair from my face.

"'Yeah, but. Steve was kinda acting weird. "I throw another punch.

"Weird, how so?" Clint speaks up immediately. I look at him; then shrug.

"I dunno. Just, he seems a bit froze up." I look back at the bag; not seeing them look at each other nervously. I glance at them and they smile.

"I'm sure he's fine." Natasha assures me. I nod slowly.

"Wanna watch the new episode of the Walking Dead?" Clint says excitedly. I stop immediately.

"YES!" I yell; running with him to the elevator.

~0~

This day has been awesome so far. I haven't had this much fun in so long. After me and Clint watched the Walking Dead episode that wasn't actually new; just a repeat from the last season; I went down to the lab.

I walk out of the elevator; seeing Tony playing with the glove of his suit. I walk over; sitting down on the spinney stool.

"Hey kid." He tweaks something in the glove; not looking over at me. "Hand me that." He jesters to a screw driver looking thing on the counter next to me. I pick it up and walk over; handing it to him. He takes it and I see him fiddle with it for a few more seconds. He grins; putting it down. "Ok, kid. Wanna help me test this?" I nod. He gets the glove of his suit and we walk over to a different part of the lab.

"What do I do exactly?" I better not screw this up cause that'll be the end of it.

"Put your arm in it." He says. I hesitate. 'Don't be scared of it its' not gonna blow up." He says. I smirk; putting my hand in and it closes.

"It's cold." I say; feeling all the bits and pieces of metal. He turns me toward a plain white wall, and then stands next to me.

"Ok." He says; positioning my arm up. "Just give your risk a little flick and fire away." He says. I nod. I squint a little; aiming at the wall. I flick my wrist up and boy was I excited in that spit second… what I didn't count on was the knock back.

The blast threw me back and into the opposite wall. It went black.

~0~

"Kid,… kid!" I could hear a faint voice… Tony? What the hell happened?

"She has a name, Stark." I think that was Steve. I squint my eyes open; seeing Tony, Pepper, and Steve. I was lying on my back on the couch. Pepper had a worried face; standing somewhat next to me. Steve looked pretty concerned; sitting on the couch next to me. And Tony looked… I honestly don't know; standing slightly behind Pepper.

"She's waking up." Pepper says; leaning down. I look around; then furrow my eyebrows. "How do you feel?" Pepper put a hand to my forehead; in a concerned manner. I blink a few times.

"Uh, fine." I sit up and feel a pain shoot through my back. "Ok! Ok! Not fine!" I say; flinching. Pepper made a face; handing me a glass of water. I put it to my mouth; drinking a bit. Pepper turned to Tony; slapping his arm.

"Ow!" He says in a whining voice.

"What did you do?" She demands.

"We were testing the suits Pep!" He says.

"Why would you let her do that?"

"Because she's 16, not 5?" Tony says like it's a valid reason. They continue to argue.

"You ok?" Steve asked. I nod.

"Yeah, my back hurts a bit." I say. He nods.

"Need anything?" I think for a moment. Ooh! I know.

"Maybe some pudding?" I say with a small smile. He smirks.

"Be right back." He says; getting up. I smile, turning back to Pepper and Tony.

"She's fine, look at her." Tony says gesturing to me. I chuckle.

"Yeah she was knocked unconscious a minute ago." Pepper says. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Do you feel fine kid?" He asked. I nod. Tony smirks.

"See? She's as fit as a fiddle." Pepper puts a hand to her face.

~0~

So today was a fun day. We were all sitting on the couch for dinner watching TV. We were having pizza; they even got my favorite; Hawaiian pizza! I take a bite of my pizza. I was sitting next to Pepper and Sam. Steve, Natasha, and Clint were on the couch to my left, Tony, Bruce and Thor were sitting on the couch to my right, and Jane, and Darcy had run to go get some sodas a block away or so.

I take a bite of my pizza, looking at the TV. Suddenly the light from my phone goes on. Yeah, Tony got me a new cord to charge my phone. Thank god! I see the time. It was almost 11.

"Oh, I should be getting back." I say; taking one more bite of my pizza and get ready to stand.

"-Wait! Just a second…" Pepper stops me. I look at her; an eyebrow rose. Everyone exchanged glances. What's going on? It was silent for a few more seconds.

"Yeah, bout that." Clint starts with a smirk. I look around at everyone. What the hell is up?

"You're not leaving Kate." Pepper says with a smile. I turn to her. "We adopted you."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**I hope you liked the chapter everyone! I'll keep this short… so without further ado… **

"What?" I say; barely above a whisper. Did she really say that? Would they actually do that? Ok, deep breaths. Deep breaths.

"I said we adopted you." Pepper chuckles nervously. I couldn't breathe. Oh. My. God. Ok… ok ok ok ok ok. I put a hand over my mouth; and I think I feel my eyes tear up. Pepper chuckles again. I put my hands over my face to contain any of my tears which I didn't want them to see. I feel Pepper hug me and I put my arms around her; burying my face into her shoulder. "Are you ok with that?" Pepper asked. Do you really need to ask!?

"Yes! Of course I am." I pull out of the hug; my tears and red coloring in my face almost gone. "Group hug time." I say between laughs of joy. Everyone smiled; standing up. We all kinda met in the middle. I was in the middle of it all; then Thor walked up and almost lifted us up. We all chuckled.

I can't believe this is actually happening! I thought at most they'd let me visit from time to time. But this is a _whole_ new level! We pull out of the hug.

"Oh; and here's your guardian." Clint says; slapping Steve on the back. Steve tenses at Clint's slaps him. I furrow my eyebrows. Wait what? "Someone had to take responsibility over you, so we voted this guy!" Clint whips his head around to him. REALLY!?

"Y-you don't need to think of it like that-"Steve states. I smile.

"Well how else would you put it?" Clint laughs.

"I don't know-"I run up and hug him. He tensed for a moment; then smiled, hugging me back. Everyone smiled.

"Aw." Clint says. Steve sends him a playful glare.

~0~

I was adopted. I. was. Adopted. I can't believe that they adopted me! Ah!

We were all still on the communal floor. Sam walks over to me; I was in the kitchen.

"So? Surprised?" Sam grins. Wait wait wait. WHAT?

"You knew!?" I loudly whisper. She nods.

"Hell yeah I knew! That's why I asked those questions." She says. Well isn't that great.

"You little sneak!" I shoulder her playfully. She shrugs.

"It was for a good cause." She says. I chuckle; rolling my eyes. "This is the family you deserve." She says. I make a face.

"Cheesy line." I say. She rolls her eyes; shoving me. I smirk.

"Kate! You guys coming?" Pepper called. I look over.

"Yeah." I pick up my soda; following Sam back over to the couch.

~0~

I walked into my "new" room. I can't believe this was all mine again. I thought I'd never see this room again; not to mention sleep in it. I had said good night to everyone; and Sam went home. I walked over to the bag of clothes; dumping it on my bed. I see a not fall out. Raising an eyebrow I pick it up.

_I'll pick up the rest of your clothes tomorrow. ;)_

Sam's hand writing. I roll my eyes; placing the note on my desk before taking the bag of clothes to the bathroom. A couple minutes later; I came out of the bathroom in some shorts and a tank top. I flopped down on my bed and stared out the window for a moment. I smile.

I found a place to call home.

_***PLEASE READ THIS!***_

**Ok. Please don't be mad at me… I'm stopping here. The end. I'm not continuing it…. JUST KIDDING! Ha-ha. Don't worry it's far from over, but what I think I'm gonna do is make a sequel. It will leave off right here, don't fret. ;) It'll be like nothing happened. It might take me a bit to post the "sequel" but in the meantime, please feel free to check out my other story ****Rebel Reboot****. I know a few of you have read it, but please read them if you liked this so far. They are pretty action packed and I've been told it's a really good story. The second one to ****Rebel Reboot**** is ****The Dark Rider****, and following that is ****Fearless****; which I am currently writing too along with this. So, anyway, I promise to get it up as soon as possible. Love you guys!**


	17. Chapter 17

Notice

**Ok, everyone. I have some good news and bad news. Usually the bad news goes first in the movies… so,… yeah. My computer needs to go into the shop for a couple days, so until then I can't update anything…. I'm really sorry yawl! :( Ok… good news time. I have decided for the lack of inconvenience, that I am not writing a sequel. I am leaving it off right where it was as chapter 18. :) ( I'm calling it 18 so people don't get confused with the notice being a chapter) I hope you support that decision, and check in to see when it's up! Have a good thanksgiving! **


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**I'm back everyone! I know the last few shout-outs were a bit confusing… so, yeah.**

**Someone: Thanks for the review! About that guest name, I actually got it from you from previous reviews, so I thought why not use it real quick? :P Hope I didn't overlap any of your reviews on that story by the way, it's a pretty good story right? ;) – oh wait scratch that, I see you reviewed as 'someone' on July 15. So at least we have that sorted. From now on, I'll use my account to review if you'd like. :)**

**Anyway! ;) Here's your chapter! **

**The next day…**

"_Miss Sanders, will you be going for a run with Captain Rogers today?"_ I warily open my eyes; then groan.

"What?" I mumble.

"_It is 5:45 Miss Sanders." _Jarvis tells me. My eyes shoot open as I look at the clock. It was indeed 5:45am. I usually got up and was out the door at 5:30. I scramble out of bed; throwing my sheets into the air and run for the bathroom. I brush my teeth quickly and throw my hair into a ponytail before running for the elevator; not bothering to get dressed sense I was wearing my usual tank top and shorts.

A few minutes later I run out of the elevator and through the lobby. I sprint out the door and onto the side walk; then hear someone call my name. I turn around seeing Steve jogging out of the lobby. Oh… ha-ha. I let out a breath.

"I though you left already." I breathe. He smirks.

"I figured you'd forget to set your alarm so I waited." He says.

"Thanks." He gives a nod. I glance at the door. "What's the route today Captain?" I say; kneeling down to tie my shoes, which I forgot to do. He rolled his eyes.

"Why not cross the bridge when we come to it?" I look up; raising an eyebrow.

"Okey Dokey." He gives a small smirk before we walk out the door.

~0~

We jogged down the path, which was now covered in leaves. It was almost Halloween, like a week away or something! Sadly, Thor Jane and Darcy had to leave for a bit before that. His dad needed him on Asgard, Jane had work, and Jane's work was Darcy's work pretty much. They should be back by Halloween.

I glance at him as we keep jogging. Why is he so quiet? He's never this quiet. Were usually talking about something, even if it's the weather. I clear my throat.

"So, uh… when did you all decide to adopt me?" He swallows, turning to me.

"Uh, Pepper was actually the one who thought of it and brought it up a few days ago. We all agreed to it so Pepper, Clint, Natasha and I went to- sign the uh, paper work." He says. Ok…

I nod, seeing the break point a few meters ahead. We slowed down and I walked toward the fountain. Why is he so edgy about this? I mean I get that he's in charge of me now, but it's not like anything changed really.

I finish drinking water and decide to speak up.

"So uh, how did you all decide on who would, uh…"

"-Who would take charge over you?" He finished. I swallow and nod. Great, now you're making me feel awkward. "They told me I should." He says. I feel a grin come onto my face.

"You don't seem entirely sure that was the right choice." I chuckle. He swallows.

"I'm gonna be entirely honest with you Kate. I have no idea what I'm doing." He says more serious. I chuckle again.

"You don't need to know what to do; you just… go with the flow. There's really nothing specific." I kneel down to re-tie my shoes. He clenches his jaw, crossing his arms.

"Easy for you to say." He says. I raise an eyebrow; looking up at him.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" I laugh.

"Nothing, just, if you were in my shoes maybe you'd understand." He defends. I nod, studying his expression for a few seconds.

"What are you afraid of?" I ask a bit quieter. He looks at me for a minute. Suddenly a loud bang came from out right. We both turn our heads; seeing smoke rising into the air a few miles away.

"We need to get back to the tower." Steve says. I nod; following him as we run back.

~0~

The door opened as we walked onto the communal floor and I see Pepper watching something on the TV. She looked worried. I walk over with Steve and she sees us.

"Fury said he needed you in ASAP. He said Clint would give the coordinates." Pepper says immediately. I look at the TV. All I could see on the screen was explosions and people running and screaming. Oh god. I look back at Steve but he was already running for the elevator to get ready. I look back at Pepper.

"What's going on?" Pepper bit her lip.

"There was a bombing about 10 blocks away. It took out a few buildings and there are at least 200 hostages in one of the buildings. There are at least 40 hostile people in the building, I think they said." Pepper says. She was worried, I could tell. Hell, I was worried.

The elevator opens and Steve runs out, already dressed in his suit; his shield in hand. He walks over, about to speak when suddenly the lights, and TV goes out. A sound like a motor dying follows.

"Barton, I didn't catch that, what street?" Steve says; a hand slight up to his com. He sighed, and mummers under his breath. "Coms are jammed." He says; then walks toward the stairs. I clench my jaw. Now I have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew now that I was living here that I would be seeing them leaving a lot. The door closed behind him. I realize I was jogging toward the door. Thankfully he hadn't gotten far. He stops and looks up passed the few stairs in confusion. "You ok?" He asked, in an 'I have to go' tone; but in a polite way. I clench my jaw; getting down the few stairs and meeting him in a hug. He drops his tense guard to hug me back.

Man I really hate this feeling. The last time I felt it was when my brother first went overseas, and he came back, but… This is different, - a lot different. I can't lose anyone else. I don't know if I could take that. Not after everything that's happened.

"Just… don't get killed… were having leftover pizza tonight." I try to say humorously. He smiles.

"We won't." He says. I nod, he gives me on last look before disappearing down the stairs. I cross my arms tightly across my chest as I walk back up the stairs and back onto the communal floor. Pepper was looking out the window; glancing at me as I walk over.

"So this must not be new to you." I whisper. She chuckles.

"Yeah… God they scare me sometimes." She says, biting her lip again. I nod. Staring at the window, seeing smoke in the distance. You all better get home safely.

~0~

"Pepper, when are they gonna get back?" I groan. I was lying across the top of the couch; staring out the window. Pepper was anxiously watching the news, trying to get a glimpse of any of them.

"I don't know Kate. Wish I did." Pepper says calmly. I moan, rolling off the top of the couch and onto the cushions. Suddenly the elevator doors opened and we both looked over. They all walked- or stumbled out of the elevator. Oh. My. God. "Are you all alright?" Pepper walked over concerned.

Clint had a long gash down his bicep and a few cuts and scrapes on his face. Natasha has a bloody lip. Steve's mask was gone and he had a gash over his eyebrow, a busted lip, and blood coming from his left side; near his ribs slightly. Tony; despite having his suit; had a scrape on his forehead and a black eye. They were all covered in ash. Bruce had stayed in the lab sense this wasn't necessarily a national crisis, and to prevent more damage from being caused.

"Yeah, yeah. We're fine." Clint mumbles. Christ, this is pretty intense. For some reason I thought this would be easy. But now that I actually see them, beaten up and bruised in front of me… this is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.

"None of you seem fine!" Pepper says; walking over to the fridge; grabbing four water bottles. Clint and Natasha sat down at the bar. I stood off to the side; holding my forearm. I had never seen them like this. It was a little uncomforting. Pepper handed a water bottle to Tony, and then walked over to Clint and Natasha; handing two to them. She handed the last one to Steve as he walked over. He tensed as he sat down; holding his side slightly.

"You all need to go see Bruce at some point tonight." Pepper orders.

"Oh, c'mon Pep." Tony whines. Pepper gives him a look.

"Come one over kid." Clint says. I hesitantly walk over, sitting in the spare seat between Steve and Natasha.

"So uh, what happened?" They chuckle.

"Just another group of people who thought they could take us on." Clint says. I smirk.

"They managed to pack the office buildings with C-4 and take almost 250 hostages." Natasha says. I nod.

"Sounds like it was tough."

"Yeah, it felt tough." Steve mumbles; holding his side; which looked like it was bothering him more now. I chuckle a bit; seeing the blood running down his side and all over his hand.

"Shouldn't you uh…" I start; looking at his side. He looks up at me.

"Yeah, get down stairs now and have Bruce check that." Pepper orders again. He nods, getting up and heading for the elevator. I watch him go and turn back to Natasha and Clint.

"It sounds like a nightmare." I state. Natasha chuckled.

"It's really not. It's just… not for the faint of heart." She says.

"Yep. Best job I ever had." He says; leaning against the counter. I listen to them talk about their jobs as SHIELD agents for a bit longer. How they can go undercover for up to months at a time, and get to train with special equipment. It sounds like such a neat job. I myself had always wanted to join the Military like my brother. But now, it just seemed like it didn't fit. I honestly don't know if I could do it either. It would remind me to much of him.

After they all cleaned up and we had our fabulous leftover pizza, I hit the sack early… After everyone, besides Bruce and Pepper fell asleep. And as I was finally lying in my bed and staring at the ceiling I realized something.

I think I wanted to be a SHIELD agent.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**Here's your next chapter everyone, please review and enjoy!**

I walk onto the gym floor and see Natasha. I begin to walk over. I was about to take a huge leap of faith and ask her a question.

"Hey Natasha?" I ask; walking up to her. She was punching one of the bags. She turned; blowing the bangs from her face.

"Yeah?" She looked at me with surprisingly calm eyes. She threw a few more punches. I swallow.

"Uh-say if, someone… wanted to be a SHIELD agent. How would they start?" Her punch hits the bag and stops. There was some awkward dead silence.

"Wait- what?" She turned back again. I gulp. Oh- no.

"W-what do you have to do to become a SHIELD agent?" I ask nervously. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?" I shrug.

"No reason." I try to say casually. She drops her fist and nods to the benches. We walk over and take a seat.

"Well, you need to have a proper education and training, I know that. And this _person _would have to go to a SHIELD academy, depending on what area you want to excel in." She says. "But other than that, you want to ask Clint. I didn't really go through the proper- uh…. Steps. You could say I guess." She says with a smile. I nod; looking away for a moment. Ok, now I gotta find the bird brain.

"Ok, that's Tasha." I smile; getting up and walking for the door. She gave me a nod; walking back over to the bags.

~0~

I walk into the elevator and the door closes. Man that was close. At least she didn't ask too many questions. I will have to tell them at some point though. Well… not until I get it all sorted out that this is what I want to do with my life.

The door opens a little too soon for comfort and I walk onto the communal floor. Thankfully Pepper was at work and Steve was on the carrier; plus Tony and Bruce were in the lab so I didn't need to worry about him telling anyone. I walk over to Clint; who was sitting on the couch watching The Walking Dead again.

"Hey Clint?" I plop down on the couch diagonal to his right. He shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth; then finishes chewing.

"Yeah kiddo?" I stare at the ground for a moment.

"Uh- what kinda school does a person go to uh, uhh- n-not me… if they wanted to go to a SHIELD school?" Smooth Sanders. Real smooth. He stopped the handful of popcorn that was about to go into his mouth.

"Why, are you thinking about-"

"No." I blurt out. He grins.

"You are, aren't you?! You wanna be a SHIELD agent!" He shouts in excitement. My eyes widen. Shit. I'm done for.

"No I don't, shut up!"

"I'm telling Tasha!" He says with a grin; running for the stairs. I get up and chase after him. He was way too fast for me though... or was he?

…

Clint ran down the stairs as fast as he could and burst through the door to the gym.

"Hey Nat, guess what!?" He yells. Natasha turned looking at him with an eyebrow raised and he ran toward her. Suddenly before the door could close a black leopard leaped out and ran at him; tackling him to the floor with a roar. Natasha stared wide eyed for a moment. She knew it was Kate but she didn't know what brought this on. "Christ! Ok, ok!" He says; putting his hands up in surrender. The big cat glares at him for a moment before crawling off him and stalking off to the far wall. Natasha pulls him to his feet and punches his arm.

"What the hell did you do?" She yell/whispers. He makes a face.

"Nothing! It wasn't my fault I was tackled to the gym floor!" He defends. They hear a growl from behind them as the leopard walks up behind Natasha. She raised an eyebrow. Clint has a glaring moment with Kate.

"Well you obviously did something to cause her to lash out." She says with a smirk. Clint grins; looking at the leopard (Kate), whose ears were pinned back; then back at Natasha.

"Kate wants to be a SHIELD agent!" He blurts out really fast. The Kate's eyes went wide and she lunged at Clint. He fell back onto the mats and Natasha watched them with a straight face. She watched as Kate had gotten her jaws around Clint's forearm and Clint had her in a head lock. They wrestled around for a few more seconds.

"Yeah, I know." She said causally. They both stopped what they were doing at the second they heard that.

"Whaaaatt?" Clint drew out. Then he chuckled. "Looks like I didn't even need to say anything." He says; sounding satisfied. Kate rolled her eyes; dropping his arm and wriggling out of his grip.

"Yeah, I could tell you were lying Kate. It was pretty obvious… no offense." She says with a chuckle. Kate huffed, licking her paw and rubbing her ear. Suddenly her ears pricked up as she looks to the door; hearing someone walking onto the communal floor. She ran to the door and up the stairs.

"Wouldn't that be cool Tasha!? We could mentor her and she'd be so bad ass, with that whole shifting thing goin on." He says. Natasha smirked.

"Even if that happened, we'd have to worry about getting her into a SHIELD academy and get past Fury and-"

"Oh c'mon it'll work! We could make it happen." He says. Natasha chuckled and rolled her eyes. Clint pulled out his phone; seeing a text on the screen.

"Pepper and Rogers are back." He says. Natasha nodded; walking over to get her stuff.

~0~

**Meanwhile…**

Pepper and Steve walked out onto the communal floor.

"I still don't understand what you're worried about Steve; I mean you already pretty close. You just add looking after her into the mix." She says. He swallowed; obviously still worried about the whole 'being a guardian' thing.

"I don't know. There must be qualifications for stuff like this." He says; putting his hands in his pockets. Pepper chuckles.

"Don't worry about that, we'll all help too." She says. "Besides, she's not that complicated-"Suddenly Pepper screamed. Steve tensed and looked up in shock. Then he let his guard down; seeing a now very shocked black leopard sitting in front of them. All the blood had drained from Pepper's face. She took in a deep breath; putting a hand to her chest.

"Yeah, not complicated at all." Steve joked. Pepper rolled her eyes. Kate jumped onto the couch, shifting back into human form.

…

I shook my head; putting a hand through my hair.

"Kate- you scared the living day lights out of me!" Pepper said; catching her breath. I grin. Tony and Bruce walk out of the elevator and over to the kitchen.

"Sorry, earlier we had a slight-…." Uh…. Please don't ask. "Complication." I say quietly. Pepper raised an eyebrow but nodded. I feel my shoulders relax. Then my gaze turned to Steve who was looking at me with an eyebrow raised as well. "Ummmmm…." I whisper slightly.

"What complication would that be?" He asked, sitting down next to me. I swallow. Suddenly the stair door swings open and Clint walks out with Natasha following. Steve and I look up.

"Kate wants to be a SHIELD agent! Kate wants to be a SHIELD agent!" He sings. Everyone stops what they were doing. I feel my breath catch in my throat. Oh. My. God. He did not just say that in front of **everyone. **

Steve turned and looked at me with a shocked expression along with everyone else. It was dead silent.

~0~

"No! Absolutely not!" Pepper made clear. Clint made a face. They had had a very silent dinner and Sam had come over. Thankfully; Sam wanted to take Kate to a movie afterward, so they were gone at the moment.

'C'mon Pepper, she's a teenage girl. She should be able to make her own decisions!" Clint whines.

"Not under this roof she's not! Especially if it involves her going out there and risking her life." Pepper says. All the avengers exchanged glances.

"Uh, Pep if you didn't notice; but we all kinda live that every day." Tony says. Pepper sent him a glare.

"She is kinda living with the world's greatest heroes." Clint grins. "What'd you expect her to do?" He says. Pepper looks to everyone. She looks to Bruce who was standing off to the side; crossing his arms.

"Bruce. Please tell me how insane this sounds." She says. He swallows, seeing everyone glance at him.

"Honestly… she's not a weak girl… She could really amount to something, with Natasha and Clint working with her." He says. Pepper scoffs; putting her hands on her face. Clint grins.

"That's 4 to 1!" He says. Pepper turns to Steve who was sitting on the couch looking in deep thought.

"Well to be technical; it won't matter how many people think she should do this because we need _your_ approval in the first place." Pepper says. He looks up at her. "Because like you said Clint-" She turns to him. "-She's still a teenage and needs the guardian's approval." Clint mumbles under his breath; looking at Steve. Steve looks around at everyone; then at the ground. Pepper waited for a response.

"Let me talk to her first." He says. Pepper smiles.

"Ok, we'll give them some time to talk it over. In the meantime… how was everyone's day?" She says sweetly. Everyone slowly looks at her. Clint grinned and chuckled. Pepper made a face. "What?" She said. Clint shakes his head and gets up; walking toward the stairs. Tony started walking toward the door whistling causally and Bruce followed. "What did I say?" She laughs. Natasha chuckles quietly. Steve kept staring at the ground; his mind somewhere else.

~0~

I walked onto the communal floor; seeing Pepper at the table looking over stuff for work. I walk over; leaning on the counter. Pepper looks up with blood shot eyes. She smiles.

"Have fun?" I nod; leaning on my fist. "Oh-" She swallows sitting up. "Steve wants to talk to you; I think he's in the gym." I raise an eyebrow but nod; walking for the elevator.

A few minutes later I walk out of the elevator and see Steve over at the bags. He turned; seeing me walk over. He lets his hand fall from the bag and walks over to the bench where his bag was.

"Hey, have fun?" He says; his breathing heavy. I nod.

"Yeah." I plop down on the bench next to his bag. He sits down on my left.

"So, about this whole SHIELD thing-" He starts. I swallow looking at the floor.

'I wasn't going to tell anyone yet." He smirked.

"Yeah I figured by the way you reacted." He says. I give a small nod. "But honestly, do you really want to be an agent?" He asked. I stare at the ground. Don't make eye contact. Don't make eye contact.

"I-I don't know. Ever sense I was little I wanted to be like my brother.-" I see him tense slightly out of the corner of my eye. "-but, I don't really know anymore. I feel like I could do more good with SHIELD. But, I don't really trust them enough in the first place." I explain. He nods.

"There's no rush."

"I know, but I kinda wanna do more training, and that kinda stuff." He nods. There was a few seconds of silence.

"I support your decision. Whatever you decide on." He says. I feel a huge burden come off my shoulders.

"Thanks." He smiles. "My parents never really trusted my judgment before-…" I look at the ground. I stand up. "I'm gonna go to bed." I say, he nods; standing up. I start walking then stop. I run back over and give him a quick hug. "Good night." I say; then let go of him.

"Night." He says with a smile. I smile and nod; walking for the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Thank you for the review **_**acompletenerd, **_**it's good to know that I have some people who like giving their input! Ok, without further ado, here's your chapter!**

**The next morning…**

After I went for a run with Steve, we started heading back to the tower. We walked out of the elevator; seeing Pepper, Clint, and Bruce. Pepper was getting ready to leave for work, Clint was sitting on his ass watching TV as usual, and Bruce was leaning against the counter with his cup of coffee.

Pepper looked up from her purse; seeing us walk over.

"Oh, hey you two, there's bacon and eggs in the microwave!" She says sweetly. I raise an eyebrow and exchange a glance with Steve who just rolled his eyes. I walk into the kitchen and grab the two plates out of the microwave.

"So… have you talked to her at all?" I hear Pepper whisper. I see Steve make a face as I walk over.

"Yeah I-" I cleared my voice to let them know I was standing there. They both looked down at me. "Why don't you go to your room for a quick second?" Steve suggests with a smile. I narrowed my eyes slightly, and then slowly nod; handing him his plate; making my way for the elevator with mine.

…

After the elevator closed Pepper turned back to him; waiting for a response. Clint looked up from the TV; also wanting to know the final decision.

"I said she could if she wanted to." He says plainly. Clint laughs a victory and does a fist pump. Pepper's face drops.

"How could you do that!? Do you want to see her get killed?!" Pepper raised her voice.

"Absolutely not, but it should be her choice-" He starts but get cut off.

"Well then what about being a SHIELD agent do you think she'll benefit from? Fury almost killed her!"

"And she needs to know how to defend herself!" He says. Suddenly the elevator door opened. The two of them look at the door with their glares still on their faces. But no one walked out. Steve narrowed his eyes for a moment; looking around the room, but no one had come out. He shrugged it off; looking back to Pepper.

"You could easily teach her any of that! Plus she already had Natasha and Clint working with her." Pepper says.

"She has to get a job at some point." Clint speaks up. Pepper and Steve send a glare at him. Clint just raises his hands in surrender; looking back to the TV.

"Clint does have a point though, becoming a SHIELD agent at a young age with improve her learning ability so she can have a wide variety of career opportunities if she doesn't want to continue with SHIELD, later on that is." Bruce spoke up. Pepper looked like she was about to slap someone. She narrows her eyes; thinking for a moment.

"I see what you're doing. You're trying to rub her off on SHIELD!" She says; as if she's almost thinking up every bad scenario. Steve threw his hands in the air.

"No Pepper!; that's not what I'm doing-"He gets cut off again.

"You may not know how to take care of a teenager Steve, but you shouldn't be afraid of-"

"I'm _not _afraid of taking care of Kate." He says.

"Yes you are! I can see it, Steve! I can literally see it. You're afraid that you're not good enough to replace what she's already lost-"Clint cleared his throat loudly; getting their attention.

"What!?" They both turned to him. He looked serious; nodding to the right. They both look over; seeing Kate leaning against the window.

…

I was glad that Clint saw me standing there. Eventually everyone in the room was staring at me and I could see that they looked regretful that heard most of that conversation. Both of their expression's softened.

"Kate, how much of that did you hear?" Steve said quietly; putting a hand through his hair in an anxious manner. I looked at the floor.

"A good bit of it." I responded quietly. I see his eyes trail to the open vent; about 3 feet away from my feet. That was how I got it; using the elevator as a distraction so I could get in unnoticed. Pepper glanced at the clock.

"Kate, can we talk about this later? I have to get to work." She says; gathering her purse. I gave a small nod and she quickly walked for the elevator. We had a good 10 seconds of awkward silence. Steve tried to avoid eye contact with me; looking for something else to bring up.

"Hey, uh I just recorded the new episode of the walking dead." Clint spoke up with a frown that I could see he was desperately trying to hide. I look at him; then to the floor.

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk." He gives a nod after a few seconds. I started walking around the couch; passing Steve on my way out without another word.

…

Steve walked over to the counter; putting both hands on the edges; deep in thought.

"It could have been worse." Clint says. Steve almost chuckled; pushing off the counter and walking over.

"Really? Worse than that?" He sits down at the diagonal couch from Clint.

"Yeah. It could have been a hell of a lot worse." He says in a serious tone; for once. He put both hands up to his face for a moment; letting out a breath. He then takes his hands away; leaning on one fist.

"What should I do now?" He said; almost more to himself. Clint laughed.

"I don't know. I would go talk to her and clear the air." He says looking back at the TV. Steve closed his eyes for a moment; then stood up.

"Man, is it always like this?" He says; walking for the door. Clint chuckled.

"Welcome to family Drama." He states as Steve walks out.

~0~

I walked past the lake and made my way further down the path. I had my hands in my pockets and a hood over my head.

I was still trying to understand what I just saw back there. It was had to take in what they were talking about. I kinda wish I had listened in the first place; and went to my room.

I took my hands out of my pockets; rubbing them together. It was getting colder; and Halloween was-… holy shit its tomorrow! Well I know what I'm doin. I'll be sitting in my room watching movies. Well- before everything, I would trick-er-treat with Sam around our neighborhood. We usually ended up at another friend's house, but it was always really fun.

I walk past a few people; my gaze lands on them as I walk by. I could see several kids running around playing and a mom and dad sitting on the blanket in the grass. I feel my jaw clench as I pick up the pace; walking out of the park.

A few minutes later I walked into my favorite little bakery. I ordered a small mocha after sitting down.

I look out the window; seeing lots of people as usual walking by.

"Ma'am, here's your drink." I turn; with a smile.

"Thank you-" I locked eyes with the waitress in front of me. "Sam?" I question.

"Kate?!" She yells; looking down with me; almost dropping my mocha.

"What the hell are you doing?" I laugh. She grins.

"Serving you your goddamn mocha. What are you doing here?" She sits down across from me. I shrug.

"Nah, you don't really wanna know." I tell her. She scoffs.

"Well I'm asking, so tell me." She demands. I roll my eyes.

"It's been kinda crazy at the tower." I sigh; you have no idea how crazy.

"I've got time; my lunch break ends in-" She looks at her phone. "-5 minutes." I chuckle.

"Well, I'm debating on going to a SHIELD academy to become a SHIELD agent. But Pepper is bound and determined to make sure I don't. She and Steve got into a small fight about an hour ago. He thinks it should be my choice, but Pepper thinks I'm gonna get killed." I explain. Sam just nodded.

"Well what do you want to do?" She asked. I shrug.

"Overall I want to be an agent. But honestly I don't trust them, and I don't know if I ever will, after, uh the sandbox thing happened." I stare at my drink. She nods. I stare into my drink.

"What else?" She asked. I look up.

"There is nothing el-"

"Don't pull that with me Sanders, I can tell when you're lying." She grins. I sigh.

"It's just something that Pepper said earlier; when she was fighting with Steve, she said that she could tell he was afraid that he wouldn't be good enough to replace what I had already lost- my family obviously- as my guardian. I don't know if it's true or not… I don't know; I just can't stop thinking about it." I mumble as I finish. She lets out a breath and we sat in silence for a moment.

"Don't worry; it'll turn out fine right?" She says. I smirk; still not convinced. I hear the jingle of the door opening; not bothering to look up. "Well, I'll leave you to it." She says' clapping me on the back after standing up. I watch her go; not bothering to follow her with my eyes as I look back down at my drink.

Steve walked into the bakery. The only reason he knew to look here was because Kate liked going here after they ran sometimes. He walked by a few people leaving when a waitress walked up to him.

"She's over there." The waitress nodded behind her. Steve looked at who was talking to him.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" He asked. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Is it not that obvious!?"She said to herself. Steve chuckled.

"Sorry." He states. She shrugged it off.

"Can I get you anything?" He shook his head.

"No thanks." She nods; putting the notepad back on her apron.

"Yeah, so she's over there." She nods behind her again. He looks past her; seeing Kate sitting at one of the tables sipping her drink. He gave Sam a nod before walking past her.

…

"Mind if I sit?" I hear a voice say. I look up; seeing Steve standing where Sam was. I shake my head in reply. He gives a nod; sitting down. I tap my fingers against my cup; looking around. We had a few seconds of awkward silence. "Ok, so… I don't know what you heard back there but-"

"I know what you're going to say, and I don't care." I say with a smile. He closed his mouth.

"I planned a whole speech as I walked over here." He says. I chuckle.

"Sorry to disappoint." He smirks; then nods. I take a sip of my mocha. He stares at the table for a moment.

"Ok, I need to clear the air here, about what Pepper said-"

"I know it's not true." I say; about to drink my mocha. He swallows.

"Uh, actually she's kinda right." He says. I stop my mocha cup from getting to my mouth. "I know you've noticed me acting a bit… um"

"Strange? Nervous? Anxious?" I question. He smirks.

"Yeah, but I've never really been responsible for someone before, let alone a teenager who doesn't have parents anymore- " He immediately stops talking for a second. I roll my eyes.

"its fine, it doesn't faze me to much anymore at the mention of it." Wow, I just completely lied to his face. He looks at me for a moment.

"Yeah, so… I just don't want to mess this up, and I want you to be happy." He says. I smirk.

"You haven't messed up yet, if that makes ya feel better." He chuckles. "And I am happy…" I add. He nods.

"And this is the part where you head back to the Tower like a little happy family." I hear someone say from my right. We look over seeing Sam cleaning up the table next to us; wiping it down with a rag. She grinned. I roll my eyes. I hear a beeping coming from somewhere near us. Steve pulls his phone from his pocket; reading something over.

"I gotta go; Fury needs me at the carrier." He says; standing up. I nod, as he gets ready to walk for the door. "Wanna come?" I look up.

"Wait- you mean, like go to the carrier? _The _Helicarrier." I ask in a serious tone. He smirked.

"Yeah. You wanna come or not? You can get a feel for the whole agent thing while you're at it." He says. I nod; forgetting about my mocha as I struggle not to jump out of my seat and skip toward the door.

"Have fun!" Sam calls as we walk out the door. I wave to her before following Steve out.

**PLEASE READ**

**Ok, I know that was a really short chapter everyone, but that's only because I won't be able to update any time soon with Christmas coming up and a wanted to give you a little something before I go out of town. So here's a little something til after the 26****th****. Have a good Christmas!**

**Revised- **

**Ok, I managed to type up the rest of what I was going to put in this chapter! :) Please please review! I know that a few of you do, but you have no idea what the reviews mean to me! It's like my early Christmas present! :) And Merry Christmas! **


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**Yeah, so… I lied. :) Ha-ha! I wanted to get this chapter up. And thank you for the reviews everyone! I'm trying to merge your requests as much as I can with future plans that I have. So please stick with me, cause over the next few chapters, things are gonna get interesting! **

I followed Steve off the quinjet thingy and onto the Helicarrier. It was huge; like, a lot bigger than I expected. Plus we were on water! I walked over to the side and looked down. I was cool… but terrifying. I immediately backed up; running into Steve.

"Don't like heights?" He asked. I stepped to the side a bit; shaking my head.

"There not my favorite." I peak over the edge.

"Well then your gonna love this." He says sarcastically. I raise an eyebrow.

"_All flight crew, secure the deck." _I hear a speaker sound. I look behind me; seeing several flight crew people running back out onto the deck; with air masks.

"Oh no." I breathe. He chuckled. I glimpse over the side again and see huge turbines bursting out of the water. "Ok, I'm done." I announce; walking for the nearest door. He smirks, and follows.

After we walked through the door I began to follow him down the hall ways. There were at least 15 different ones we walked down. Then we walked through an opening and into a large dome-like room.

My mouth dropped. This was insane! I begin to look around; not bothering to follow him as he walked up to director Fury.

…

"Rogers what is she doing here?" He asked in a pissed off tone.

"I just wanted to bring her along; she's not doing any harm." He replies. Fury lets out a breath before handed him a mission file.

"You're leaving in 20 minutes. So you better find somewhere to put her cause I'm not your babysitter." Fury makes clear. He wasn't too happy that they decided on bringing her back to the Tower. Steve looks very the information regarding the mission.

"What's the danger level?"

"Minor, shouldn't be a problem for you." He says; then goes back to his work. He closes up the packet; then looks over at Kate.

…

I look down through the windows in the floor. Jesus Christ. I back up and to the center of the walkway.

"Kate-" I look over; seeing Steve nod to the door." We're leaving." He says. I nod; feeling a stab of disappointment; this place was kickass. I jog up to him and follow him back the way we came.

A few minutes later we were just about to the flight deck door when he turned down a different hall.

"Uh-, I thought you said we were leaving." I state; taking one more look at the exit door. He nods.

"We are, just not back to the Tower." He says. I raise an eyebrow; but give a nod. We walk into a different room and I see tons of SHIELD equipment and at the front of the room I see his Captain America suit and shield. Whoa, now that is awesome. He walks over and pulls the shield out.

"Wait!" He stops; raising an eyebrow. "Put it back I need a picture." I say; pulling out my phone.

"Really? You need a picture? We live in the same building." He says with a smirk. I nod.

"Well… yeah, but this is like sacred ground!" I argue. He rolls his eyes; putting the shield back and stepping to the side. I get like 5 different pictures before giving him the all clear.

He comes back a minute later in the suit; shield in hand; but he didn't put the mask on yet.

"Grab the 9mm and anything else you might wanna use." He says. I go to grab the gun then stop. Wait, what he just say?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, and wait-… Why do I need this stuff?" I question.

"Because you going on to mission with me." He says. "Or do you wanna go back to the Tower?" He adds; standing up straight; eyeing me. I quickly shake my head; grabbing the 9mm and a pair of medium SHIELD cargo pants and a jacket with black combat boots. He smirks; going back to what he was doing while I ran and got changed.

A few minutes later I came back out and grabbed and cool looking knife with the SHIELD symbol carved into it and stuck it in the knife holster on my right calf; while the 9mm was in its holster on my left calf. He picked up his shield and we walked out the door and back toward the flight deck.

After getting to the quinjet; I sat down in one of the seats while two other agents walked past us and to the piolet seats. They eyed me funny; like _who the hell is that? _I give them a quick glare after I'm out of there line of vision.

"So where are we going? And what are we doing exactly?" I ask.

"Were going to an abandoned research base to pick up some information that Fury needs." He says. I nod; feeling the quinjet lift off the ground.

"How long?" I ask; it better not be more than an hour; because if it is, I'm getting air sick. He thinks for a moment.

"5 hours, give or take." He answers plainly. I feel my face drop. He chuckles.

"Well, if ya don't mind, I wanna try and go to sleep; because if I don't I'll probably hurl." I say with a smile; leaving my head back. He nods. I get into a comfortable position and close my eyes.

~0~

I feel someone shaking me awake; I open one eye and see Steve standing in front of me.

"We're here. Nap times over." I groan; sitting up. He starts to walk off the ramp. I see the piolets looking at me and chuckling. I feel my ears shift slightly and go back on my head and I growl escaped my mouth. They grin dropped and they looked at me with slightly scared faces.

"Kate-"Steve calls. I feel my ears shift back and my canine teeth shrink back. I give them a sweet smile before running off the ramp and following Steve into the building.

We walked into the building and I looked around; a bit shocked. Everything was covered in ash and smoke residue.

"Looks like a bomb went off in here." I whisper. He nods.

"Something like that." He says; walking by a door way. There's a sudden crash and he holds up a hand. I immediately stop; a hand on the top of my gun. We look around into the different doors and down the halls. It's silent again and I feel a shiver go down my spine. This was kinda creepy. "Ok, keep quiet and follow me." He says. I nod; pulling the 9mm out and holding it firmly in my hands.

We walk up to a door that said **stairs**. He opens it a crack; peaking in. I look behind us, down the dark hall; this was like a haunted house or something. It was freakin creepy.

"Ok-" He turns back. "I'll go first, you cover me." I give a nod; he opens the door and walks in, then stops. "Just- don't shoot me in the back." I smirk.

"I'm not that reckless. My brother taught me a thing or two about war strategy and undercover operations." He smirks; walking into the stair well and we begin to climb about two flights.

After about three minutes or so; we reached the top level and he opened the door a crack; looking in. He opened the door all the way and we began to walk down the hall. He took the right side of the hall and I just kinda walked to the left. There's another crash closer this time and he holds up a hand again.

I stop; looking around; something catches me eye and I look into the room closest to me. There was a body in the corner of the room. I feel my feet moving me toward it.

"Hey, there's a body in here." I whisper. Steve looked over at me; then at the floor; seeing something.

"No wait- Kate don't go in there." He says. I stop.

"What?" I stop. He was about 4 feet behind me; slightly diagonal of me.

"Something's not right." He says. I roll my eyes.

"It'll be fine-" I walk into the room and I see what he meant. I walk right through a laser detecting system and something blew out the floor. I feel the floor fall out from under me and then it went black.

~0~

"Kate... Kate!" I hear someone yelling. Ouch, god damn it, what did I land on? I feel my eyes open to slits. I move a little; feeling sore.

I open my eyes all the way and see I was about 40 feet down or so and it was pitch black besides from the whole I just fell through. I see Steve on the top floor; looking down. "Are you ok?" He calls down.

"Yeah… I'm fine." I rub my head; sitting up. I had a long gash down my right arm. I huff. Great, just. great. How am I gonna explain that to Pepper when she gets home from work. I look around me; it was pitch black. "Did you find any of the research?" I call up.

"Yeah, I got it." He says. I get to my feet; looking around me; letting my eye sight adjust. It looked like a lab. I feel for the closest wall and feel I light switch. I flick it up and the lights flicker on. I look around me and see something that makes me blood run cold.

There were four dead bodies on the floor. Mostly burned to a crisp; their skeletons showing. I put a hand over my mouth; backing up against the wall.

Oh my god. Oh my god. I take in a few deep breaths; taking a few steps forward. I finally walk up to the bodies; looking them over. Some of their clothing was still there. Something catches my eye from one of them. I kneel down looking over the remaining pieces of one of their clothing. It was a sweater with blue green and red stripes. I knew that sweater.

I feel my breath quicken and I see an ID badge on the floor. With a shaky hand I pick it up; then turn it over.

Mom.

I feel my body begin to shake as I looked over to the closest body. I frantically moved over to it; struggling to not let any tears escape my eyes. I pick up the ID badge and turn it over.

Dad.

I immediately drop it; scooting back across the floor til I was against the counter.

No, it's not true. It's not them! I knew they worked at a lab but this couldn't be them! It- it just couldn't. I scramble from the counter and stand up. I turn back to the bodies on the floor and feel tears start to come down my face. I begin to back up faster; feeling my breath quicken and I full blown run into someone. A small cry escapes my mouth when I turn around; almost punching Steve in the face.

He looks down at me; seeing tears streaming down my face.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a serious tone. I don't even bother answering and immediately rap my arms around his waist and start bawling.

Out of the corner of my eye I see him look over at the bodies slightly behind the counter. He quickly turns me around and we started walking for the door.

…

By the time we got out of the building I stopped crying but looked pretty terrified and lost in thought. We walked onto the ramp and I couldn't help but stare at the building until the ramp went up and I stared at the ramp til we got back.

~0~

Steve walked onto the bridge and threw the file down onto the table; sending Fury a glare.

"A little insight on where we were going might have been helpful Nick." He says. Fury turned; picking up the file.

"Well it wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't taken her with you."

"Yeah, well thanks to your little mishap in information, she got to see her dead parents." He says. Fury doesn't look up as he looks through the file.

"I'm surprised she didn't remember the lab in the first place." He says. Steve felt the breath leave his lungs for a second.

"You knew her parents would be there?" He said quieter.

"As a matter a fact it did. But at the time I had only assigned one agent to this mission so it didn't matter." He says.

"Didn't matter? Those are Kate's _parents_. You don't have any right in the first place to hide that from her. "Steve says.

"Well if you hadn't brought her along this conversation would have gone much smoother don't you think?" Fury responds. Steve clenched his jaw in annoyance. "Her parents worked for SHIELD. This is what gave me the right to hide that from her. They were working on a level 10 project that went wrong; resulting in, you know who." He says. Steve didn't know how to respond. "She was about 3 years old when her mother brought her to the lab for the day when there was a mishap in their work. Kate got caught in the blast; resulting in her ability, which is permanently fused into her DNA."

"And you didn't think for one second that she should know any of this." He says more to himself. Fury gives him a cold glare.

"Dismissed." Steve gives him a look before heading to the door.

"If you think I'm not telling her any of this you're dead wrong." Steve turns; before walking out.

"I didn't think so." He says as he walked out.

**Boom, yep. That happened…. Please review! It will be like my Christmas present! ;) **


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

**Here's the next chapter everyone!**

I can't believe that out of every science lab in the world, we just happened to stumble upon the one my parents' worked-… and died at. After coming back to the Helicarrier, Steve had an agent bring me back to the Tower while he went to talk to Fury. He seemed kinda pissed off, well not at me really. Just-…. In general I guess.

I walked up to the Tower; walking into the lobby and to the elevator door. This was one thing I would never be able to put behind me. As long as SHIELD was around; I wouldn't be able to forget about all the pain I endured this year.

There had to be more to tis than there seemed to be. There's no way that my parents _aren't _connected to SHIELD, in some sort of way. If Fury needed that information then something was up. Ok, think. What's the easiest way to get good, reliable Intel?

I let out a breath; searching my brain for answers. Oh come on, there gotta be some source that's nearby that I can easily access!-….. Clint's laptop.

I feel a grin come onto my face at me brilliant thinking. Come on, I'm a genius; admit it.

The door opens a few seconds later and I take in a breath. I peeked out of the elevator; seeing no one there. Quietly; I began to walk over to the couch; seeing Clint's SHIELD laptop sitting on the cushion. I need to find out why my parents were there; and what Fury needed from that building.

I sit down and turn it on. Please be logged in. Please be logged in. I wait for it to come up and it turns out; it he hadn't logged out yet. I grin; clicking on previous SHIELD missions, then click on the file labeled last 6 months. Several files pop up and I find the one for the warehouse. I click on it; seeing several pictures of the people that were there with me. I recognize a few; seeing a deceased label next to their pictures.

I clench my jaw; scrolling down farther rather quickly. I see my picture and click on it; then click on relations. A big label that said CLASSIFIED popped up. I slam my hand on the arm of the couch. Then I hear the sound of the elevator and quickly close the laptop; tossing it back to where it was on the couch. I turn around; seeing Clint walk in.

"Hey Kate, did you have fun on the carrier?" Clint says; walking over. I nod; slowly sliding my right arm under the pillow so he didn't see the bandage. He sits down at the other couch; about to grab his laptop. Shoot, I'm dead.

"What did you do there?" He asked; stopping for a moment. I shrug.

"Not much just wandered around and stuff." I say. He gives a slow nod. He sits for a few more seconds; eyeing me. Then he stood up; walking around the couch to my right.

Before I could react he pulled the pillow off my arm. I tried to hide the bandage but it was too late.

"Would this be the other _stuff_?" He says; looking down at my arm. I curse under my breath. "What did you do?" He says. I open my mouth to speak when the elevator door opened and Steve walked out; a file in hand. I let out a breath; at least I can explain it better now.

"Hey, do you know how this happened?" Clint asked; gesturing to my arm. He slowed down; giving me a quick glance.

"Yeah, uh. We'll have to explain it in a little more detail." He says. Clint nods walking toward his laptop. "Just go under recent missions, should be the first one."

"I'll pull up the mission report." He says; plopping down on the couch and getting his laptop. Steve walks over behind him.

"I-" I don't have time to finish as he pulls up the top and my recent search comes onto the screen. They both see what's on the screen; then look up at me. "I can explain..." I start.

"You don't have to." Steve says; walk around the couch and handing me a file. I look up at him; then down at the file. "Don't open it just yet." He says. I nod; staring at the cover anxiously. He walks back over to explain to Clint. He pulls up the mission report; reading it over.

"You got to go on your first mission?" Clint says with a grin. I nod; trying to fake smile. Clint notices and glances at Steve; who shakes his head to drop it. Clint just nods; reading over to information. His expression darkens as he continues to read it over.

I wait somewhat patiently; then hear the elevator door open; seeing Pepper and Natasha walk out. Oh great. Now we have to explain this all over again.

"Hey guys!" Pepper calls. "Hey Kate, did you have fun on the carrier?" She asked. I nod; not saying anything. I really don't want to talk about this. I know it wasn't Steve's intention to have me see my dead parents on my first mission, but it was a little inconvenient that it had to happen that way. Now I honestly don't feel like being an agent really.

Natasha walked over and started to read over Clint shoulder.

"I'll be right back." I say; then walk toward the stairs.

...

They all look up; watching Kate hastily walk for the door and disappear up the stairs.

"Why didn't Fury mention this at all?" Clint says.

"Level 10." Steve answered plainly. Because that was how SHIELD worked. If you weren't clearance level whatever; it was none of your business.

"Hey parents were SHIELD agents?" Natasha says; still reading.

"Yeah, and guess where she got her ability from?" Steve says; putting a hand through his air.

"An explosion in the lab... What were they doing?" Clint says; reading.

"She was only 3 years old when it happened... So her mother brought her to the lab because they didn't have a babysitter to watch her?" Natasha says to herself.

"That resulted in her ability; which is permanently fused into her DNA." Steve finishes.

"Christ." Clint mumbles. Pepper listened as they spoke amongst each other.

"Does she know?" Pepper asked.

"Most of it. God, I'm such an idiot." Steve mumbles.

"You couldn't have known; none of us did." Natasha says; looking over Clint shoulder.

"What part doesn't she know about?" Pepper asked.

"About her ability and her parents being SHIELD agents." Steve says. They all glance at the file she left on the couch.

"Should we tell her?" Pepper asked.

"She should know." Clint says. Natasha and Steve nod in agreement.

~0~

I stared out my window; sitting at my desk. I couldn't help but think about all the memories I still had left from my parents and brother. They were getting fuzzy and I didn't want to lose any of those.

I sniffle; wiping my eyes on my shoulder. Tomorrow was Halloween. Great.

**Ok I know it's a bit short but… oh, I just couldn't help myself. :) I love updating this so I wanna keep you all updated and now that the break started I have a lot more time to work on this. Please review! So have a Merry Christmas everyone! Or, if you celebrate any other holiday, I hope you enjoy it as well! :) **


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas everyone! Here's your next chapter. Please review and tell me if you liked it! :)**

Steve walked up to Kate's door; lightly knocking.

"Kate?" He called; waiting for a response. "Hey, listen. Uh, Fury gave me the file. If you wanna look at it you can." He says. There still wasn't a response. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Kate?" He lightly turned to knob; realizing it was open. He walked into the room; looking around. The window was open.

_Oh no._ He thought.

He picked up the speed; walking to the window and looking down. No one. He backed up a little, next to the desk; seeing a note sitting on the sketch book he gave her. He picked it up; quickly reading it.

_Ok, I don't really know how to start. But than to say; I have to go away for a bit. It's none of your faults and I don't want to leave. But I have to. Steve, I know your probably reading this right now so let me say that I don't blame you for what I saw at the building. And I know that the information in that file is just the bits and pieces that Fury wants me to believe so I'll drop it. But I can't do that. I have to find out what happened to my parents. Please, none of you should come looking for me; I'll be fine. Ha, and I know you'll all have a nice Halloween._

_Until next time,_

_Kate_

Steve quickly folded the note; running for the elevator.

~0~

"Got any 3's?" Clint asked.

"No, go fish." Tony replied. Clint huffed; picking up a card. Steve suddenly ran out of the elevator; and grabbed the file on the table. Clint turned around; raising an eyebrow.

"What's the hurry?" He asked.

"Kate's gone." He says; going for the stairs.

"What?!" He threw done his cards; hopping over the couch. "What'd ya mean she's gone?" He stands a few meters away.

"She said she needed to go look for her parents' research. And she knew the file didn't contain the truth." He says.

"Well can we do anything?" Natasha spoke up; getting from her seat at her SHIELD laptop.

"Yeah. Find out anything you can from SHIELD or the other people they worked for." He threw on some shoes before heading for the door.

"And I'm guessing your gonna follow her?" Natasha says. He doesn't respond as he disappeared into the stairwell.

~0~

**A few minutes earlier...**

I set the note down on my desk; letting out a breath.

I'm still unsure about this. I mean, I know for a fact that Steve won't approve, and neither will anyone else... But I need to know the truth. If I don't find it out for myself, then no one will tell me. I know Fury is just giving me the bits and pieces of information that don't matter.

I put on my black leggings, a dark navy tank with the SHIELD symbol on the top left corner of the front of the shirt, and a brown leather jacket. I slipped on my black combat boots; lacing them up. Natasha gave me the SHIELD shirt when I first got here. I was uncomfortable wearing it at first; but who knows. Maybe it will come in handy!

I walk toward the window; pulling it up and looking down. I gulp. God dammit I hate heights. Ooo! - wait. I walk away from the edge and get down on my hands and knees; pulling a box out from under my bed. I open it; taking a deep breath.

Inside was my 9mm pistol that Steve made me keep. I don't know why he said to keep it in my room; but it was coming in handy now!

I grin; putting in in the back of my pants and then walking back to the window. I take a few deep breaths. Leaning out; seeing several dozen stories down. Ok, remember to shift. I slowly place my foot out on the ledge; more than half my body hanging out the window.

Suddenly there was a knock at my door.

"Kate?" That was Steve. I feel my body tense; and then my foot slip. Next thing I knew I was falling and the air was rushing by my face. I feel my eyes go wide and the world was spinning around me. I could see the side of Stark Tower whipped by as I picked up speed.

Then I start to feel my form shift. Suddenly my arms turned to wings and my feet turned to talons. I was flying! I look down; seeing I had turned into a bird. I fly around in front of the tower; looking through my newly found eyes; giving me enhanced vision. I look up at my window; seeing Steve had walked into my room; glancing out the window before picking up the note.

I feel a stab of guilt as I see his expression change and he lowered his hand containing the note before running for the door. I'm feeling bad now. - But, I can stop now. I turn my head away; flying away from the tower.

~0~

I had been flying for several hours now. And sense I didn't even know the exact location… this was turning out to be a bit harder than I originally thought.

I look down; seeing the rural land passing under me. I hadn't been this far out in a while. It was nice; getting away from the city for once- well, without seeing your dead parents.

I fly for a few more minutes before seeing a very familiar site. My eyes widened and I cocked my head to the side; looking down. My home town. I swallow; flying lower 'til I perched on a big branch on a tree. I feel my form shift back to normal; I shake my head, blinking a few times. My vision went back to normal; it was a little weird a first but it adjusted quickly.

Ok… now I have to get down. I look around; seeing I was about 20 feet in the air. I gulp. Oh god. Why the hell did I just do that?!

I swallow; inching my way to the inner part of the tree. I slowly begin to climb down; jumping the last 3 feet and landing on my ass. God dammit. I blow the bangs from my face; getting to my feet before brushing myself off.

I put hand through my hair and look around. Nothing. Happened. Ok, I need a disguise.

I look around me. There was an older lady watering some flowers, a man jogging with his dog, and two kids biking down the street. Ok, what would be the best animal to get through the neighborhood unnoticed? Well, this is a pretty rural area, so farm animals commonly get out of their pastures. I could do a dog or cat. But in my neighborhood, there are a lot of watch dogs for people who own lots of land. So I don't want to send the wrong message that I'm an escape guard dog on the loose; causing panic. And I can't be a cat, due to the large population of dogs in the area.

I start to walk down the side of the gravel road; my arms crossed over my chest. C'mon, there's gotta be something that I can shift into that would not draw _too _much attention but would be fun to be while I searc-

I stop in my tracks; seeing a horse pasture to my left. I feel a grin come onto my face.

**A little short, I know. But I'm gonna try and post the part 2 tonight! It's almost done. :) Please review! **


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

**Here's the part 2 everyone! I knew that I would be to long for one chapter, so I just went ahead and split it. ;) Enjoy!**

Steve turned off his motorcycle before flicking up the kickstand and swinging his leg off. He looked around before pulling out his phone.

"Clint?" He started.

…

"Hey Cap, I got some info for ya." Clint says; having the phone on speaker.

"_Got a location, or maybe some coordinates?" _Steve asked. Clint clicked a few things on his SHIELD laptop before responding.

"Well she doesn't know the exact location of the lab soooooo…." He trails off; taking a bite of his sandwich. "-she'd probably head toward her home town." He finishes; swallowing.

…

Steve looks around him; he had just driven all the way to the lab. He lets out a breath.

"Sure thing, Barton. I'll head there now." He says.

"_Have fun._" Clint says. Steve merely rolled his eyes before hanging up; getting _back_ on his motorcycle.

~0~

**A few hours later… **

I felt my body finish shifting and I took in a deep breath; letting out a snort. I look down, seeing two hoofs. I shake my mane; looking myself over. This is freakin awesome. I swallow; looking around me; seeing a small pond.

I look down at my newly found hoofs. Ok… how do you work these? I slowly lift my left front hoof; then paw the ground. I look to my back feet. I was a jet black horse, awesome. I take a few steps forward. I feel a neigh escape my mouth.

This is so freakin cool. I don't know where to start with this. I'll be able jump fences and explore miles of land in the area without giving people a second thought!

I pick up speed trotting over to the pond; getting a quick drink before looking around at the other horses in the pasture with me. Ok, let's get going.

I pick up a canter as I start north toward the more- well, city area. There was at least 100 miles before I hit it, but the lab was somewhere in between.

~0~

**A few hours later…**

I trotted over the hill; shaking my mane from my face as I came to a halt. I saw two guys on motor bikes. I snorted; nodding my head.

Well, I guess I could take a break real quick. I shake my mane from my face again before picking up a canter; getting down the hill. They were going pretty slow, about 10 mph. I cantered up beside them; the fence between us. One of them looked over; chuckling before looking to his friend and nodding to me. I could see him smirk and they nodded to each other to speed up.

I felt my hooves pound the ground a bit faster and the canter sped up. They laughed to themselves as they picked up the speed. Now I was galloping. My neck stretched out farther and my breath staggered to the beat I was running.

35

37

40

We continued to pick up speed and they smirks fell from their faces as we reach 45mph. That was the top speed for a horse to run at. I continued to hold the gait as best I could.

Christ, I've never run this fast before. I need to slow do-

Suddenly I realized that there was a fence ahead. Oh no. A neigh escaped my mouth as I slammed on the brakes and my front hooves struck the air as I came in contact with the fence.

_Bang!_

I crashed into the fence and hit the ground with a thud. Ow, god dammit. I'm such a klutz. I lift me head from the ground; seeing the two guys laughing and driving away. Crap, I had them!

I stumble as I try to get up; shaking my mane from my face; letting out a snort. Suddenly a pain shot through my leg as I look down. I was tangled in the god damn wires. Great.

Suddenly I heard a motor in the distance. My ears perked up as I looked to my left; back where I came. That sounded a lot like. Suddenly I motorcycle came into view and I felt my eyes widen. It was Steve's motorcycle.

I feel a chill run up my spine as I try to act casual; covered in a few scratches; tangled in the fence. Ok, get up! I struggle again; this time I found myself on my feet before slipping and crashing to the ground again. A neigh escaped my mouth instead of a cry of pain as another piercing feeling shot through my like a blot of lighting.

He was getting closer darn it. I look back up. Shit, he saw me. I clumsily kick out; trying to get up again. I look up seeing him look over at me; furrowing his eyebrows and slowly his bike down.

Aw hell no. Don't let your good-patriotic side kick in, Steve. Just keep. Going.

But no, he pulls his bike over and swings his leg over. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. If he sees my eyes I'm screwed. It's so easy to tell sense I have a light blue, and a dark blue eye. He stepped under the fence and taking a few steps forward. I feel my ears go back and I raised my head a little higher. Dude, back. Off.

But knowing him, he decided to help and next thing I knew he was untangling the wire. I saw one of the wires go and then it was off. I jumped to my feet and for some reason didn't realize I was still attached and ended up face planting again. Another neigh escaped my mouth as I struggled more. Jesus Christ!, Come on! It can't be that strong!

"C'mon, calm down." He says; I feel him untangle the wire again and I stay still for a moment. Once he's clear, I need to bolt.

I see him look up and he looked at my face for a moment. Something changed in his expression that I didn't like. He stopped what he was doing; looking into my eye for a moment. "Kate?" He said quietly. I let out a snort; looking around. Kate? Who's Kate? What's a Kate?

He clenched his jaw for a moment; thinking. I let out a snort; shaking my mane. Then I hear a snap and see the he had taken the last wire off. Go! I jumped to my feet before he could say anything else and bolted up the hill. Wait… why did the wire make a snap sound? I look down seeing something on my lower leg. Suddenly I felt a small stab of electricity and I was on the ground in an instant. I hit the ground and neighed. What the hell Steve!? Ow. I rolled a few feet and came to a stop; covered in dirt.

I cough and groan. - Wait, horses don't groan do they? I look down… I had shifted back. Oh no. I was about to get to my feet when I looked up; seeing Steve standing in front of me; arms crossed.

"What the hell was that!?" I yell; putting a hand to my head. He was quiet for a second.

"What'd you think you're doing?" He says. Oh no. He was pissed I could see in in his eyes, he was so mad at me… which was a first for him.

"You know what I'm doing. So why'd ya follow me?" I ask; sounding calmer now; knowing it will piss him off even more. I blow the bangs from my face; leaning on one arm; still sitting on my ass.

"Because, knowing you; you're going to get yourself into trouble which can be easily avoided. And because you ran away from the tower." He says; getting a little louder. I roll my eyes; pushing myself to my feet.

"What the hell did you hit me with? And how did you know it was me?" I ask; stumbling as I got on my feet.

"Something Banner designed. It disable's your ability for a few seconds; turning you back. As long as it's on, you can't shift." He says. "Comes in handy, especially if I need to ground you." He adds; and I send a glare at him when he cracks a smile. "And one; you eye color is pretty unique when you shift, and two; you still have that gash on your arm." He says notch-handedly. I look down; seeing it had reopened when running with those two bikers. I let out a breath; looking around me. "Come on. We're going back." He says. I don't follow him when he turns to walk away.

"No." I answer plainly. He turns back; looking at me. "I need to see this through. And you can't stop me." I add. I'm so gonna get my ass grounded, if he'll go that far- which I think he's not afraid to crack down on me now. He looks at me for a moment; I can't read his expression as he puts a hand to his temple. I feel a smirk come onto my face; welcome to the teenage years, Steve. "You're either with me or against me." I start to take a few steps back. He thinks for a moment before looking back up at me.

"Fine." He says. I stop; raising an eyebrow.

"Fine what?" I ask. He lets out a breath.

"I'll help you find what you need." He says. Oh thank god, I have no idea where I'm going! I smile.

"Good. Let's go!" I start to walk past him toward his ride; seeing him smirk out of the corner of my eye.

I get to his bike; hopping on the back.

"So can I take this off?" I ask. He turns the key; bringing the engine to life.

"Nope." I freeze for a moment. Excuse me?

"Um, why?"

"Because you're grounded." He says. There it is. I throw my hands in the air.

"Typical." I mutter. He chuckles before we start down the road.

**Hope you liked the chapter everyone! Sorry I didn't post it last night like I said, I've got a cold so I'm trying to get better so I can update for you all! Please review! **


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Next chapter's up everyone! :) Enjoy!**

We still hadn't gotten to the lab yet. I was getting bored and tired... And God did I need to stretch. Plus I get back car sick.

"Can you stop?" I ask. He gives me a quick glance; looking ahead.

"Um, sure?" He slows down; I hop off before we even stop all the way. I groan; kneeling close to the ground.

"You ok?" He raised an eyebrow. I swallow and nod.

"I just- need to walk." I get up and start to walk into the woods.

"Don't be gone too long." He says. I turn; giving him a nod.

"Where am I gonna go?" I question.

"Knowing you, anywhere." He says. I could see he was suspicious; I had to be quick.

Once I was out of his line of sight I looked around me; then sat by the nearest tree stump and picked up a rock; looking at the device on my lower leg. I need to get it off.

I started to hit it with the rock; prying at it to try and break it loose.

...

A few minutes later I jabbed the rock at it one more time and it chipped away the lock; opening and letting my ankle breathe. I let out a breath; slumping back. Ok, step two- … get to the lab.

~0~

I walk through the front door; then walk over to the front desk; going behind it and opening all the drawls. Come on, there must be something here. I shuffle through the papers; seeing something blue at the bottle. I pull it out and unfold it; placing it on the desk. It was the blueprints to the building. I quickly look them over.

Maintenance, no. Electrical room, no. I continue to look when one catches my eye. There was a blank room; no writing.

I grin; looking for the floor number. Ok, third level; hallway D. I leave the blue prints on the desk and walk toward the stairway. I still remembered most of it pretty well.

…

I had been searching around the second level first for an hour or so. Who knows what might be around here, but I didn't find anything of value.

I walk back out into the stairwell. I quietly opened the door; looking up. It was much darker sense it was about 5pm right now. I open it all the way and it creaks loudly. I tense before quickly closing it to a crack behind me. I begin to walk up the stairs 'til I got to the landing, about as big as a small room. I go to push the door open-

"-did you find anything?" My hand stopped and my body froze.

"No. Look over there." There was another voice. I swallow; putting my head close to the crack; looking in.

"Just find it! We won't get the money if we don't find the research." Another guy; great. I could see the men dressed in mostly black clothes.

"It doesn't matter; as long as we do as they said and get the girl we'll still be rich. She's the scientists' only living relative."

"She's the chick with the ability right?"

"Yeah. She's a shifter." I felt my blood run cold. There's looking for my parent's research? - Wait, scratch that, they want me too!?

Suddenly someone grabbed me; not to hard but not gently either, and pulled me away from the door. I almost let a cry escape my mouth when someone pushed me against the wall; putting a hand over my mouth. I could literally hear my heart beat in my ears.

I look up; seeing it was only Steve. He puts a finger to his lips. I nod; and he takes his hand away. I'm gonna kill him. It's official.

"Why did you follow me?!" I whisper- well, it was close to a shout. He doesn't answer; looking through the crack in the door.

"You think I was going to let you run off _again_ to take care of this by yourself?" He responds in a whisper; glancing at me, I could see he was defiantly hiding his anger at the moment. I look at him for a second before we both turn our attention back to the door.

"Go back down stairs." One guy says. I swallow hard.

"Great what no-" he pushes me back to the far wall; behind the door. It creaks open and a guy walks out. Then Steve pushed the door closed and the guy turned; looking shocked. He sent one quick punch; knocking the guy out and catching him by the front of the bullet proof vest he was wearing. I moved out of the way as he pulled him behind the door. I look down at the guy. "Ya know there were at least 10 other ways we could have solved that problem." I state. He doesn't respond as I follow him down the stairs.

We get down to the bottom and he turns suddenly.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He starts. I make a sudden stop and look up at him.

"I was trying to find the information." I tell him.

"By sabotaging my bike and running off _again_?" He somewhat asked. I shrug it off. Ok, yeah. Maybe I did mess with his bike; but it wasn't anything serious; I just stalled out the engine; or something like that- ok, it was something my brother taught me.

"Well you weren't getting that my parent's research was none of your business."

"We can help you, Kate. Don't you get that you don't have to do this alone?" He says; sounding a little less mad.

"Yes I do. Ok? Don't you get it?! These people want either my parent's research, or me. This is something I HAVE to do alone." I argue my point.

"No it's not." He argues back. "Don't you understand that you can die, doing stuff like this? I don't want that to happen." He says. I swallow. Ii know he's just being protective, but at some point he's gonna have to deal with the fact that I need to fight my own battles.

"Yeah. I do understand that, my parents died doing hell knows what and I want to know why that is." We have a few seconds of glaring at each other before we saw two people walk into the building. The stop and look at us. Oh no. Do they recognize me?

"Are they friends?" I whisper. They stare at us for a moment; I see one slowly reaching for his gun.

"No." Steve responds. They suddenly open fired and next thing I knew; we were running for the next hall. We break into a sprint and I see the bullets flying around us as we ran. I know I'm not as fast as him. I now realize smart stuff over here didn't bring his shield. Whoop.

I feel my form start to shift suddenly before I could stop myself; and next thing I knew I was on all fours and coming to a halt. I glanced down; seeing I was in wolf form.

The guys were now inches away; I felt my jaws rap around one of the men's legs and I heard a bone crushing snap. He fell to the ground with a cry of pain and I could feel warm sticky blood filling my mouth.

Oh god. I got a queasy feeling but that was quickly hidden as I let go of the guy and jumped; bringing the other guy to the floor. I snapped at his leg as well; shaking it violently.

The guy let out a cry and I couldn't control myself very well. I felt a growl escape my mouth and suddenly a feeling of angry swept over me. These people wanted my parent's life's work... For money. And if they couldn't find that; they wanted me anyway.

What kinda cruel bastards do that?!

"Kate." Steve says sternly. I stop shaky the guy and look over at him. "Let go of him." He says.

I growl; I want to make him pay. They have no right to take anything that belonged to my family; let alone me. "Kate." He says again a little louder. I growl louder; sinking my teeth a bit deeper; hearing him almost scream in pain... and then I let go of his leg. The guy was just about out cold now as I stalked past him and for the door.

...

We walk out the door and I realize what I had done. I was letting my ability take over. My anger just made it harder for me to stop. Maybe he was right; if I don't do this alone maybe it will be harder to deal with the problem.

I don't want to shift back after that. That isn't like me; I'd never hurt someone like that. Oh god-... I can still taste the blood in my mouth.

I feel a whine escape my throat as I stop; looking around. What now? I know he was walking out of the door behind me. And I know he knows that I want to get the research as much as the next person.

But knowing him... We're going back to the tower.

"Hey." I hear him walk over and kneel down to my left. I feel my ears go back and I look away. Wait- why am I doing this? Ok, gotta shift back, gotta shift back.

Next thing I knew I was sitting cross-cross in my human form... And also realizing the site of blood makes me nauseous, let alone the taste of someone else's in my mouth...

I immediately got up and ran over to the nearest bush; going behind it. I now realize I'm throwing up. Whoop. After a few seconds I felt the feeling die down a bit; then I felt a hand on my shoulder and I tense. Oh great- don't break down, don't break down.

"I'm sorry." He says simply. Oh great, ya did it. I turn a little; facing him slightly. "I know that this means a lot to you, and if you want to find out what happened to your parents we want to help. Clint, Natasha, they've been searching for anything they can find sense you left." Wait- what? They have? But, why would they just- do that for no reason? They work for SHIELD too, and I know that being loyal to their jobs should outrank the fact that I want to know about my parents.

"But I never asked them to." I say; wiping my mouth with my sleeve before turning and sitting on a step of the building; ignoring the fact that there are hostile people inside.

"You didn't have to. They're your family too." He says; sitting down next to me. I sniffle; staring at the ground. This is literally hurting me. I know that they all really care about me, but I can't just forget about my biological family! They are the reason I'm here… but the only reason I'm alive is because of Steve and everyone else. God, this is so complicated.

I take a few deep breaths, regaining my self-control before standing up.

"Can we just look on more time?" I ask quietly. He looks at me for a moment.

"We?" He says; a small smirk appearing on his face. I nod. He lets out a breath before nodding. "Ok, just- we have to be careful. I'm gonna call in some reinforcements; we don't know how dangerous these people are." He pulls out his phone. I smile and nod. But I couldn't help but feel I wouldn't like what I was going to find.

**Hope you enjoyed! Don't worry, you'll find out the deal with her parent's in the next chapter. And there will be some father-daughter relationship stuff between Kate and Steve next chap too. Please review! **


End file.
